It's Only Love
by Virgo Writer
Summary: Li must return to the Kinomoto Kingdom with the remains of his fiancee. But a marriage is still required to unite the two families, and now Syaoran has his pick of the remaining daughters or else bring war upon both kingdoms. AU SxS.
1. A Match of Misfortune

Edit: 21/6. So this story, for those of you who may recognize it, was formerly known as **A Match of Misfortune**. The first chapter was put up as a test, just to gage response, and after working on it a bit more, seeing as it was well received, I've finally gotten to a point where I feel happy to relinquish the rest of the story - this is why there is such a huge gap from the date of publish to update - I promise regular updates from now on due to having pre-written a good chunk of it. One of the main difficulties I was actually having with this story was the title. I just thought it sounded a touch too melodramatic for the tone I wanted this story to have - yes it starts with a death, but it's a good love story, I swear. So that's why you get a new title - **It's Only Love** - along with a new chapter.

I hope you all enjoy. I wanted this to come out more like a mystery I suppose so it's one of those stories that will flick in and out of chronological time (bit like timey-wimey-ness) as things slowly unfold. All in all, it spans over maybe 2 years, but different elements will be revealed a different stages.

Now, without further ado, **It's Only Love** . . .

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Administrative stuff

Summary: Li Syaoran must return to Kinomoto Kingdom with the remains of his fiancée after her tragic demise. But a marriage is still required to unite the two families, and now Syaoran has his pick of the six remaining daughters of Kinomoto Fujitaka for the sake of both their kingdoms. Romance/Mystery

Ages:  
Kinomoto Touya: 27yrs  
Li Syaoran: 22 yrs (almost 23)  
Kinomoto Sakura: 21 yrs  
Kinomoto Tomoyo: 20 yrs  
Kinomoto Ayame: 18 yrs  
Kinomoto Meilin: 18 yrs  
Kinomoto Chiharu: 17 yrs  
Kinomoto Naoko: 16 yrs (almost 17)  
Kinomoto Rika: 15 yrs

Story begins in June of Syaoran's twenty-third year . . . in other words, he's gonna be 23 in about a months time.

Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura.

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_And when my world comes crumbling down, you'll look at me and say, "what doesn't kill us makes us stronger, it's only love. It's only love."_

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It's Only Love – A Match of Misfortune

"I will not cry," Li Syaoran repeated quietly to himself as he hugged the urn of ashes closer to his chest. "I will not cry."

And he wouldn't. Not a single tear would be shed for his fiancée, Kinomoto Ayame. He would not let himself cry, not even for the one he loved. As much as he cared for her, as much as being here restrung the hurt of losing her, he would not let a single tear be shed over the loss. Rather, he would present himself to Kinomoto Fujitaka and beg for his forgiveness, but never would he cry.

"We're here, your highness," the cab driver called as the carriage came to a halt.

He nodded, silent as ever as he made his way out of the carriage and walked up the steps towards the Kinomoto castle. Fujitaka greeted him warmly, like a long lost son, smiling that ever-present understanding smile.

"What brings you here today?" Fujitaka asked warmly. "And what is it you've done with my charming young daughter? I suppose she's busy with wedding preparations. In less than two weeks, there will be no more Kinomoto Ayame and –"

"There is no more Kinomoto Ayame," Syaoran cut in, unable to restrain himself any longer. He couldn't stand Kinomoto's kindness, especially not now when he least deserved. "Fujitaka-sama," he said quietly, bowing his head as he offered the urn to his dead fiancée's father, "this is all that is left of her."

"I . . . I mean . . . what happened?" Fujitaka asked, taking the urn in disbelief. "What did you do to her Li-san?"

"I didn't protect her," Syaoran replied quietly, self-loathing tainting his voice. "I promised you that I would protect her, and I failed in my duty. All I can do is ask for your forgiveness, but I know I do not deserve it."

"Syaoran-kun," Fujitaka began, reverting back to the more familiar address. "Syaoran, I-"

"No, father," a voice cut in before Fujitaka could answer. "He does not deserve our forgiveness. How could you Li-san? How could you let this happen to our precious Ayame-chan?"

Syaoran turned to face the Kinomoto's eldest daughter, Kinomoto Sakura, who stood by the door glaring at him fiercely. He didn't shy away from her harsh look, because he knew she was right. It was his job as her fiancé and future husband to ensure Ayame's safety and he had failed to do so. He deserved anything that Sakura would throw at him, and he was sure she would.

The beautiful Kinomoto Sakura had somewhat of a reputation for her fierce temper, and as the eldest daughter, was considered something of an old maid in spite of her and Syaoran being nearly the same age. Both were in their early twenties, and while it was not common practice for a man to marry so young, a woman her age was expected to have been married at least two years by this point. It probably didn't help that she had scared off all her suitors, and even some of those coming for her sisters.

She had a fiery spirit no one would dare to tame, and right now that spirit was intent on causing him whatever harm would make up for the loss of Ayame, her second eldest sister. Ayame had always been considered the most beautiful of the Kinomoto daughters – she had jet-black hair and porcelain skin, and jade green eyes just like their mother's. Those eyes were really the only similarity between Ayame and Sakura, and otherwise you would be forgiven for not noting the family resemblance between the two. Ayame had been considered the epitome of perfection, and many would miss her selflessness and kindness.

"Sakura, be silent," Fujitaka commanded, a slight sternness to his tone. Not once had he ever been persuaded by the view that women should be seen and not heard, but now was not the place for her to speak, especially when Syaoran was so clearly hurting. "How did it happen?" he asked softly, turning back to Syaoran.

Syaoran recited his story stiffly, for that it all it was – a story. The truth could never be known – not to Fujitaka, not to anyone. Instead he told a tale of highwaymen and thieves, and had her remains cremated so that no one would be able to examine the body and thus learn the truth. He had promised Fujitaka that he would protect Ayame, and he would do right by her in the end, even if he had failed her thusly.

"Syaoran-kun," Fujitaka said kindly, his voice laced with pity, "you have done everything you could for my daughter, and I offer my forgiveness in the hopes that it will allow you to forgive yourself."

Fujitaka took a deep breath and continued, looking pensive as he spoke. "Although this day is marked with sorrow, I must sadly remind you of the true purpose behind your match." The resistance was evident in his voice as he tried to speak the words as gently as possible.

"You can't be serious," Sakura muttered to herself. "You'd be willing to give him another of your daughters after this."

"I understand, Fujitaka-sama," Syaoran responded, bowing respectfully to his elder. "This marriage was to bind the alliance, and without it . . . I know my duty, Fujitaka-sama."

"That you do, Syaoran-kun," Fujitaka responded. "As do my daughters. You and Rika-chan shall be wed in two weeks."

"Father, no," Sakura spoke out, unable to hold herself back. "No . . . I mean . . . I'm not sure that Rika-chan would be the most appropriate wife for Li-san."

"Rika has just reached marriage age, she is the most eligible daughter and the appropriate choice," her father responded, giving her a curious look.

"Perhaps we should allow Li-san to make that choice himself," Sakura reasoned smoothly. "You allowed him to make Ayame his choice, when Chiharu was the most eligible choice at the time. Please, father, it would not be fair on either of them, especially Li-san after his loss."

"You're right, Sakura-chan," Fujitaka replied, glancing sympathetically at Syaoran. "I know this doesn't give you much time, but the most I can grant you is four days to choose a wife, Syaoran-kun. It is of the utmost importance that we finalize this alliance as soon as possible, and while the marriage contract hangs in the air like this, both our kingdoms are at risk."

"I understand, Fujitaka-sama, and I thank you for your generosity," Syaoran responded, watching Sakura sigh in relief from the corner of his eye.

Fujitaka nodded. "I will organize an interview with each daughter," he responded, "Sakura-chan, go fetch Rika-chan so that she can meet with Syaoran-kun."

"Of course, father," Sakura said respectfully as she left the room. She raced to the room where she knew her five sisters would be, quietly practicing their needlework like the dutiful daughters they were.

"Onee-chan!" Rika called cheerfully as her eldest sister entered the room. She smiled brightly and waved Sakura over to where she sat in the sun. "There you are."

Sakura smiled wanly at her sister as she moved towards her. "Rika-chan, there is a guest with father who wishes to speak with you," she said softly, not giving anything away.

"Is it Yoshi-kun?" Rika asked hopefully, whispering so only Sakura would hear. Sakura shook her head, and Rika responded with a frown. "I so hope he asks father soon," she whispered quietly, "otherwise I may be promised to another before he gets the chance."

"Don't worry, Rika-chan," Sakura promised softly. "I'll make sure that you and Terada-sensei are together. I promise."

Rika smiled warmly and hugged her sister. "Thank you, 'nee-chan." And with that she was gone.

"Sakura-chan, what's wrong?" Tomoyo asked, noting her sister's less than cheerful demeanour.

"Li-san is here," Sakura answered neutrally.

Tomoyo frowned, giving her sister a pitying look, while Chiharu, Meilin and Naoko all began to chatter excitedly. "This is great," Chiharu cried happily. "I didn't think we'd get to see Ayame-chan until the wedding."

"She's going to make a beautiful bride," Naoko added happily. "She looks like she stepped straight out of a fairy tale, like Snow White, ne?"

"And Li-kun is sooooo handsome," Meilin added with a giggle. "Ayame-chan is so lucky to have such a handsome husband."

"No," Sakura cut in, her voice cracking with emotion. "Just Li-san. Ayame . . ." She paused to take a harrowing breath. "Ayame-chan is dead sisters."

The four of them gaped at her, their eyes shining with tears. "You lie, Sakura-chan," Chiharu begged. "Why would you tell us such a lie?"

Sakura shook her head as tears began to stream down her own face.

"But she can't be," Meilin cried loudly, feeling her chest tighten. She tried to stand to argue, but fell weakly back down as the news hit her even stronger than before. Her sister, her twin, was dead.

"Sakura-chan, what happened?" Naoko asked with worry etched on her face. "How can Ayame-chan be dead?"

"They were attacked on the highway," Sakura answered. "Li-san said she was shot trying to protect a small boy from the thieves."

"Poor Li-kun," Tomoyo commented quietly, frowning a little at the tale, although she kept that to herself. It wasn't really like Ayame to act so selflessly, but then, what reason did Syaoran have to make up such a lie? "He must be heartbroken," she added in a obligatory sort of way.

"I'm sure," Sakura replied, "but it doesn't really matter. There still needs to be a marriage, even if Ayame is dead, and Li-san must pick a bride from those that remain."

The girls all gasped.

"But I'm being courted by Yamazaki-kun," Chiharu argued. "Father has practically promised me to him. What if Li-kun chooses me? What will I do?"

"I'm sure you'll be fine, Chiharu-chan," Tomoyo cut in as the voice reason, glancing knowingly at Sakura. She could already guess that Li-kun's options had not been their father's idea. "Li-kun and Yamazaki-kun are good friends, ne? Li-kun is a honourable gentleman, and would never steal his friend's beloved. There's no need to worry, Chiharu-chan."

"I bet he chooses Rika-chan," Meilin pronounced boldly. "She's the youngest of us, and everyone always said she was the next prettiest after Ayame." There was a hint of resentment in Meilin's voice at this comment, which was not surprising. Meilin was Ayame's twin, and the two were almost identical – they were only distinguishable by their eyes of which Ayame's was a beautiful jade green, and Meilin's a ruby red. Rika was the picture of innocence, with large chocolate brown eyes like their father's, where as Meilin had the look of a temptress.

The two eldest sisters shared a worried glance at Meilin's pronouncement. Both of them knew of their youngest sister's attachment to their tutor, and while their father may be willing to accept such a love match in the end, it would be unlikely that he would sacrifice his relationship with the Li's and the ever important alliance to do so. If Syaoran wanted Rika, then he would get Rika despite anything anyone tried to do the contrary.

"I'm worried," Tomoyo whispered quietly to her older sister while the other three spoke fondly of their departed sister, telling each other stories of what a wonderful person Ayame had been.

"It'll be ok," Sakura said softly in response. "I promised Rika that she and Terada-san would be together, and I won't go back on that promise."

"That's not what I'm worried about," Tomoyo admitted in response. "I'm worried about you, Sakura-chan. You've already lost Li-kun once, can you bare to do so again."

"It doesn't matter," Sakura responded with a shake of her head. "We must all do what is best for the kingdom. I'll try and sway him towards Meilin-chan – she will make him a fine wife, and she has the same beauty as Ayame-chan, if not her pure nature." This caused Tomoyo to frown once again. "They should be happy together, and that's all that matters."

"But Sakura-chan-" Tomoyo began, but Sakura quickly cut her off.

"As long as the one I love is happy, then I shall be happy," Sakura told her quietly. "Didn't you tell me that, Tomoyo-chan? I'll just have to hope it's true, because there's no reason why Li-san would ever choose the un-marriable eldest sister when he has the pick of the lot. He didn't the first time, and he won't now."

"Sakura," Tomoyo tried again, her voice soft and quiet. "Are you sure he's happy? Because I know that you're not, and if you're not happy, then maybe . . ."

"Enough, Tomoyo-chan," Sakura cut off, her voice rising momentarily. "I just lost my sister, her fiancé is grieving. Of course I'm not happy. Just please drop it, for me. Please, Tomoyo-chan."

"Ok, Sakura. Just let me know if you need anything."

Sakura just nodded and left the room.

On the outside she was the picture of strength – proud, stoic and impenetrable. But inside, she was broken into a million tiny pieces, and as much as she tried to tell herself that it was because Ayame was gone, she knew she had been broken for a while now – about 7 months to be exact – and the same person who broke her heart, was the only one who could put it back together.

_Li Syaoran._

~ to be continued ~

I dropped in a few hints here and there that weren't in the original. The story is AU, set in a feudal like society although with more of a European influence simply because I know nothing of feudal Japan. Cultural references will thus be based on European culture (probably up to about early Renaissance) but I like using Japanese honorifics regardless because I think they can be quite meaningful.

The land consists of four main kingdoms with several smaller ones: the Lis (with the smaller Reed Kingdom), the Kinomotos, the Gensous, and the Mizukis (which is the most powerful of the four kingdoms). Probably more like boroughs than kingdoms, but oh well.

Hope you have enjoyed it and thanks to everyone who reviewed this the first time.

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**Next chapter: Syaoran has a little 'one-on-one' time with each of the sisters.**

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Note:** This is a sort of plan of the layout to the the land. There are four main Kingdoms with sort of subsidiaries within each. Kita (North) consists mainly of the Kinimoto kingdom and Amamiyas. Higashi (East) consists of the Mizuki kingdom and some smaller kingdoms further east . Minami (South) is the Lis, the Reeds, and another small kingdom. The Reed kingdom is situated between the Lis and Kinomotos. Nishi (West) is the Gensou kingdom along with a couple of small kingdoms, although these are somewhat more weakly aligned to one another - Nishi is somewhat less cohesive than Kita and Minami which are bound together by family ties rather than alliance alone. The Gensou's are just south of the Amamyas and to the west of the Lis.

Also, Touya is currently unavailable but will come later.


	2. Singled Out

Second chapter now - here is the never before seen material. I'm currently trying to think of a summary for the whole fic, as currently it only encompasses the first two chapters a best, but it's hard to think of one without giving too much away. Updates will be regular from now on, so watch out for this on a bi-weekly basis.

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Administrative stuff

Summary: Li Syaoran must return to Kinomoto Kingdom with the remains of his fiancée after her tragic demise. But a marriage is still required to unite the two families, and now Syaoran has his pick of the six remaining daughters of Kinomoto Fujitaka for the sake of both their kingdoms. Romance/Mystery

Ages:  
Kinomoto Touya: 27yrs  
Li Syaoran: 22 yrs (almost 23)  
Kinomoto Sakura: 21 yrs  
Kinomoto Tomoyo: 20 yrs  
Kinomoto Ayame: 18 yrs (dec)  
Kinomoto Meilin: 18 yrs  
Kinomoto Chiharu: 17 yrs  
Kinomoto Naoko: 16 yrs  
Kinomoto Rika: 15 yrs

Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura.

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It's Only Love – Singled Out

Kinomoto Rika chatted to him cheerfully as the two drank their tea. It was clear that Sakura had not told her the news, as she spoke to him with none of the pretext of courtship – as a brother-in-law and not a suitor.

And that was all she would ever be. He had no interest in the youngest Kinomoto. He found her too young and innocent. The seven-year age gap bothered him, even though it was hardly unusual for such an age gap to exist. Most marriages had a gap of at least ten years between the husband and wife, but Syaoran never understood the appeal. He'd much rather have a wife that was on the same level as himself in terms of both intellect and maturity, rather than a slowly withering beauty he could hang on his arm.

Not that he didn't appreciate the appeal of young Kinomoto Rika, mature in some respects but still young in so many others. She was pleasant enough to look at with her father's eyes, and her mother's soft features, and she had a charming, albeit innocent, personality. She spoke of topics he had no interest in – her needlework and something about a new bunny that Sakura had procured for her birthday – and it was easy for him to let his thoughts wander.

"So, why hasn't Ayame-neechan accompanied you?" Rika asked cheerfully, smiling at him brightly. Her eyes were bright and innocent, and he knew that in a moment he would be wiping that look off her face.

"Ayame-"

"Rika-chan," Sakura's voice cut in. Syaoran looked at her gratefully, but she only returned his thankfulness with a scowl. "I hate to interrupt, but you need to speak with Tomoyo-chan."

"Ok, 'nee-chan," Rika responded cheerfully, giving her sister a warm smile before practically skipping out of the room. It almost made Syaoran want to laugh – Rika was still such a child, and he couldn't see how anyone could see her as a wife at this stage in her life.

"You can't marry her," Sakura said as soon as her youngest sister was out of earshot. "I forbid it."

"But she's lovely, Sakura-chan," he replied, unable to stop himself from goading Sakura. A smirk pulled at his lips, but failed to reach his eyes. "She would make a wonderful wife."

"But not for you," Sakura responded stiffly. "Take anyone else, but not her. Meilin would make a wonderful wife, and she would be more than willing to have you. Just don't choose Rika-chan, it would break her heart."

"Anyone?" he asked, his eyes lighting briefly with some obscure emotion. "Do you mean that, Sakura-chan?"

She scowled again at the familiar address, but didn't tell him to stop using it. "Obviously not Chiharu," she answered sarcastically, "but I'd assume that even you aren't that low."

"You mean Yamazaki-kun's soon-to-be, soon-to-be wife?" he asked with an almost sadistic smile. "You're right, I'm not that low."

"Well in that case, I mean anyone," she replied blandly. "Tomoyo, Naoko, and Meilin would all make fine wives. You have your pick."

She shuddered a predatory grin pulled at his lips. "I don't want Tomoyo-san or Naoko-san or Meilin-san," he replied in a low voice. "And you should know I have no intention of marrying your Rika-san."

"You said you wouldn't marry Chiharu," she told him with a glare. "You better not be going back your word Li-san."

"I'm not," he responded, "although you seem to have forgotten that there are six Kinomoto women for me to choose from."

She rolled her eyes, not believing him for a moment. "You best choose wisely, Li-san," she responded before making her way out of the room. "I'll send Naoko down to speak with you in a moment."

"It'll be my pleasure, Sakura-chan."

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"Onee-chan, why didn't you tell me?" Rika asked her sister as tears fell from her eyes. Rika had always been the most sensitive of the daughters of Fujitaka "I can't believe Ayame-neechan is gone."

"I'm sorry, Rika-chan," Sakura answered softly. "You needed to be kept in the dark about this.

"Li-san has given me his word that he will not ask for your hand," she lied, trying her best to offer her sister some encouragement. "He will not get in your way."

"Thank you, Sakura-chan," she said, sniffing back tears. "Thank you for watching out for me."

"It's ok, Rika-chan," she said, gently hugging her littlest sister to herself. "Naoko-chan," she said, speaking over Rika's shoulder. "It's your turn now."

"I'll put in a good word for you and Tomoyo-chan," she told Meilin and Tomoyo with a smile as she headed downstairs. She had no interest in marrying, even to Li Syaoran, and fully intended to spend the rest of her days in the castle at their father's side with Sakura. The two of them would make sure that he was happy in his old age, and when he died and Touya became king, they would act as ladies-in-waiting to Nakuru and nurses to the future monarch's she gave birth to.

Naoko spoke excitedly to the Minami monarch about ghosts and ghouls and various other disgusting topics that would make her other sisters cringe, and poor Sakura shake in her boots. She knew it was not proper conversation for a lady, but that was kind of the point. She was trying to show him what a terrible wife she would be, and doing a fine job at it.

"Naoko-san," he cut in after some fantastical tale of Chaucer's that should not be repeated in polite company, "I know you do not wish to marry," he said, seeing right through her ploy.

"Oh no, Li-san," she lied unconvincingly, "I just thought you might share an interest in 10th Century literature."

He chuckled at her comment. "It's ok, Naoko-san," he replied. "I will not ask for you, and as long as you keep telling such rotten tales I doubt you'll ever have to worry about that prospect. You shall keep your father thoroughly entertained until his dying day – that I am sure of."

"Then I guess I'll be going," Naoko said curtly, stepping up from her seat. "I'll retrieve Chiharu-chan for you at once."

"Naoko-san, wait," he cut in before she could leave, "I just want to ask you one question." He paused, waiting for Naoko to indicate that she was listening. "Who do you think I should marry?"

Naoko thoughtfully considered the question. "Sakura-chan wishes you to marry Meilin-chan," she answered pensively, "but it's only because she is worried that Meilin-chan's temper will drive away respectable suitors such as yourself. I don't believe that she will be a good match for you though – she is fiery, but she is too obliging in her own way."

"So, who would make a good match?"

Again Naoko contemplated his question. If Meilin was not a good match, then that only left Tomoyo, but again, the match seemed poor. Tomoyo was too sweet and quiet for the Li monarch, and judging by his own shy demeanour, the two would just fade together into the background. He needed someone who could challenge him and make him step out of his comfort zone.

Ayame would have been good for him. She would have forced him to stand beside her in the limelight, but she would have absorbed that light rather than making it possible for him to shine. In a moment she knew there was someone more perfect than Ayame for him. Someone who would fight him on every decision. Someone who would care for him in the way that mattered. Someone who would make him a good king, and thus would herself be an excellent queen.

"Sakura-chan," she admitted shamefacedly. "I know it's probably not the answer you want to hear, but she would make a good match even though she is the oldest and practically an old maid. I'm sure you want a young wife like Rika-chan, but in truth Sakura-chan would be the best match for you in the end."

He offered her a small smile in response. "Thank you for your honesty, Naoko-san," he said simply. "I'll see Chiharu-san now."

Naoko left quickly, and was soon replaced by Chiharu who refused to say even a word to him.

"Chiharu-san, I know you are being courted by Yamazaki-kun," he told her with a tone of amusement in his voice at her tenacity. "I have no intention of undermining my friend merely for the sake of an alliance."

"Then why did you even bother asking to see me?" she replied snarkily, crossing her arms over her chest with a loud 'harrumph'. In that moment, he could hardly believe that Takashi was so attracted to this woman. She hardly seemed his type at all, but he supposed to each his own.

"I want to ask you the same question I just asked Naoko-san," he said simply. "In truth, you have three eligible sister's, and I want to know which one you think I should marry?"

"You should marry the one you like best," Chiharu replied simply, refusing to be more helpful. "Each of them is lovely in their own way. Meilin-chan has Ayame-chan's beauty. Tomoyo-chan has her quiet intelligence. Rika has her cheerfulness. You should marry the one who encompasses the things you loved best about Ayame, and at least that way you will be happy."

He looked thoughtful, and in spite of her coolness towards him, Chiharu couldn't help but wonder the answer to the question she asked next. "What did you like most about, Ayame-chan?"

"Ayame's eyes," Syaoran answered truthfully. "They always reminded me of . . . something wonderful. She has the most beautiful eyes, and she never seemed to be able to hide anything in them. Her eyes were so honest, so pure."

Chiharu scoffed at her words, although she was actually a little warmed by hearing him speak so passionately. "Then perhaps you should marry Sakura-chan," she laughed, smiling at her own joke as she got up and left the room.

_'Marry Sakura-chan,'_ she thought daftly to herself. _'I'm sure he loves the thought of that. Li Syaoran to wed Kinomoto-sama's old maid. That will surely happen.'_

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Meilin was neither subtle nor passive in her actions, and it was honestly the thing he detested most about her. Naoko was correct in her summation of her sister – she was not afraid to show what she wanted, or to fight for it, but she would do anything to have it and keep it, and that was what made her too obliging for her own good. She needed someone who would not take advantage of her giving nature and would return everything that she gave him ten fold.

Li Syaoran was not that man.

Meilin was forward as always, sitting far closer than was acceptable in their society, not even dancing around the topic of marriage as a proper woman would. She probably thought that she had this in the bag, given that she held the closest resemblance to Ayame, but the one thing that entranced him about Ayame physically, was the one thing she didn't have.

She had always lamented her sister's beautiful green eyes, and now more than ever they were being held against her. She could see Syaoran scrutinizing her face, and his gaze would constantly return to her eyes. She could see the disappointment that flashed through his amber eyes as he noted their colour – crimson was nice, but it was nothing compared to the jade green eyes of her sister.

_'Or Sakura's emerald gems_,' she thought moodily to herself. Sakura's eyes were even more beautiful than Ayame's, but Ayame had the whole package of the perfect princess that seemed to trump the beauty beheld by Sakura's stare.

_'Perhaps I should accept Fye's offer,'_ she mused silently. Fye wasn't nearly as handsome as Syaoran, or as rich, or as highly esteemed; but he smiled at her like she was the most precious thing in the world. She liked that feeling. It was the first time anyone had ever made her feel like she was something special – unique even – and she secretly longed for that feeling when he wasn't around.

They lapsed into silence, both thinking of someone else. "You can marry Sakura-chan for her eyes, me for her looks, or Rika for her personality, but you'll never have the whole package," Meilin warned him as she got up to leave. "I just thought you should know that. I only look like her. Rika-chan only seems like her. And Sakura-chan will _never_ be her. But I suppose you already knew that.

"Maybe Tomoyo-chan is the one for you," she suggested flippantly as she moved towards the door. "She's the least like her in every way. Only I don't think that's what you want, but you can't expect any of us to be like her, so forget trying to replace her and just pick somebody. The alliance is all that matters."

Meilin's last words rang in his head even as Tomoyo entered the room after her. As always, Tomoyo was direct and to the point, hitting the nail on the head. Tomoyo had always been known for her insight.

"Marry Sakura-chan," she said simply. "You know, and I know, that she's the only one that can make you happy."

"And who will you marry, Tomoyo-san?" he asked, annoyed that once again, Tomoyo had managed to read him like a book.

"Whoever takes my fancy," Tomoyo replied absently. "Don't ever think for a second that we are short of offers in this castle, Li-kun," she added amusedly. "Even Sakura-chan has her fair share, and she's considered by many to be beyond the age of marriage."

"And yet she has turned down each and every one of them," Syaoran replied with a scoff.

"Perhaps she is waiting for the right one," Tomoyo told him whimsically. "It hardly matters. If you ask for her hand, Li-kun, she won't turn you down. She knows her duty."

"Do you know yours, Tomoyo-san?" he asked, glancing at her knowingly. Tomoyo's blank façade didn't falter, and she stared back at him proudly.

"Right now, my duty is to my sister and her happiness," Tomoyo replied sternly, meeting his eye. "If you can promise me that much, then I will take my place. I will do my duty."

"I'll take that into account," he replied, giving nothing away.

Finally, Sakura came and he sat up that much straighter and smiled ever so slightly at her presence.

"I didn't think I'd be graced with your company," he told her with smirk he knew would rile up the auburn haired beauty. Sakura glared silently, which was a response he was starting to become accustomed to.

"It seems that the only one of your sisters with any interest in marrying me, is Meilin-san," Syaoran commented blandly, "and even she doesn't seem that keen on it."

Sakura continued to glare at him, and he continued to smirk back. "So that only leaves you, Sakura-chan," he said slowly. "What be your intentions towards me?"

"I intend to see this alliance through," she replied coldly, "irrespective of your choice."

* * *

One day later Syaoran came to Fujitaka with his decision.

_Kinomoto Sakura._

~ to be continued ~

Second chapter out of the way. Hope you all enjoyed. If you did, you should go press that review button thingee below and show some author love.

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**Next chapter: Syaoran discusses his decision with Fujitaka as the elder recalls the reason for the nuptials.**

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Note:** Syaoran said that there were three eligible sisters when he spoke with Chiharu; she assumed this meant Rika, Tomoyo, and Meilin, but Syaoran intended to include Sakura in this. It makes one wonder, who did he intended to exclude and what does Syaoran know that Chiharu doesn't?


	3. The Reason

Thanks everyone who reviewed. Hope you enjoy this latest update! Sorry that it's kinda short.

* * *

Administrative stuff

Summary: Li Syaoran must return to Kinomoto Kingdom with the remains of his fiancée after her tragic demise. But a marriage is still required to unite the two families, and now Syaoran has his pick of the six remaining daughters of Kinomoto Fujitaka for the sake of both their kingdoms. Romance/Mystery

Ages:  
Kinomoto Touya: 27yrs  
Li Syaoran: 22 yrs (almost 23)  
Kinomoto Sakura: 21 yrs  
Kinomoto Tomoyo: 20 yrs  
Kinomoto Ayame: 18 yrs (dec)  
Kinomoto Meilin: 18 yrs  
Kinomoto Chiharu: 17 yrs  
Kinomoto Naoko: 16 yrs  
Kinomoto Rika: 15 yrs

Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura.

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It's Only Love – The Reason

Kinomoto Fujitaka couldn't help but feel a little disappointed at Syaoran's choice. He had resigned himself to losing most of his daughters to marriage and custom, but given Sakura's resistance, he had hoped to always have her to see him through the twilight of his life.

"Are you sure?" he questioned, trying to hide the reluctance in his voice.

"Of course, Fujitaka-sama," Syaoran assured with a quick nod. "I have given it careful consideration and I think that Sakura-san is the best choice."

Fujitaka just nodded solemnly. In spite of his best wishes, he didn't feel like he was gaining a son, but rather losing a daughter, and he had already lost one too many.

But it was all for the greater good, that was what he assured himself, and he knew that Sakura would happily sacrifice herself for that good. His mind turned back to the beginnings of the proposition, and the first time he had encountered Li Syaoran, not as a boy, but as a king.

* * *

_~ Approx. 8 months earlier: _

_Fujitaka was surprised by the request for private counsel that met him upon returning to Kita lands. Although he had been close to the Li's many years ago, it had been some time since they had been in contact – not since the death of Li Xenon the former ruler of Minami, and even before then it had been sparing and usually business related. The drifting apart was largely due to new alliances that rendered their former trading agreements obsolete._

_Regardless, Fujitaka accepted the request, curious to see what had become of Li Syaoran, Xenon's youngest. He remembered him as a shy boy who played his cards close to his chest, and so was almost taken aback when a young man of twenty-two walked into his quarters with a confident stride. Of course it was all a front, because outside of his duties, Syaoran was still that scared little boy who would shy from the spotlight sooner than he would step into it._

_"It is good to see you, Li-san," Fujitaka greeted warmly, taking the young man's hand in his own. "I was so sorry to hear about your father."_

_Syaoran nodded a thank you to the condolences. "He has been sorely missed," he answered, "and please call me 'Syaoran'."_

_"Well, then I will insist on 'Fujitaka'," the older man replied as he gestured for Syaoran to take a seat. "To what do I owe this pleasure, Syaoran-san?"_

_Syaoran frowned. "Sadly it is not pleasure that brings me to you, Fujitaka-sama," Syaoran replied. "I am afraid that my brother-in-law, Gensou Hiro, plans to move forces against you."_

_"Who has told you such a thing?" Fujitaka gaped in surprise. "How do you know?"_

_"I know because he has asked me to aid him," Syaoran replied reluctantly. "He relies on his marriage to my sister as binding me to do so and to deny him without good reason would bring his warmongering upon my people instead."_

_"But why are you telling me this, Syaoran-san?" Fujitaka questioned. "What do you expect me to do with this information?"_

_"I guess I hope to use it to persuade you," Syaoran responded as best he could. "Gensou is – if I can be so frank – an idiot. He feels that you have slighted him by offering asylum to the Bohemians."_

_"But I-" Fujitaka began in protest to his good name and diplomacy, but Syaoran cut him off._

_"I do not want to be at war with you, Fujitaka-sama," he continued, his tone powerful and sincere. "You have always been good to my family and I do not wish to be pulled into a meaningless war. _

_"The bulk of Gensou's armies are currently on an expedition to the north, which gives us time – but only a year at most," Syaoran explained, his body language giving no clue as to his desperation. "I have spoken to my advisors, and they have suggested that we forge a superior alliance to displace Gensou's claim."_

_"So you wish to draw up a treaty between our two kingdoms?" Fujitaka asked, wondering why Syaoran would suggest such a sacrosanct meeting to discuss politics._

_Syaoran couldn't help himself as he tried to articulate his next words – he blushed despite the years he had spent mastering his outward façade. "No, Fujitaka-sama," he replied solemnly. "Sadly it cannot be that simple. Such overt political action would not stop Gensou and probably just redirect his wrath._

_"What I suggest, rather, is a marriage," he finished with brilliant red cheeks, the surety in his voice failing as it trembled in an obvious way._

_Fujitaka had the decency not to comment on Syaoran's embarrassment although he did not let him get away so easily. "This is interesting, Syaoran-san," he smiled warmly, his intelligent eyes sizing up the young king before him. "My son, Touya, is already married - as I am sure you are aware - to the daughter of one of your kinsman, so I take it you are asking for the hand of one of my daughters?" He phrased it as a question, but it was clearly more of a statement. His precise words showed that he already understood what was up for negotiation._

_"Yes, sir," Syaoran said weakly, bowing his head as he spoke._

_Fujitaka could not hide the amusement in his eyes, and smiled at the change in Syaoran's disposition. When talking battles and politics he was confident and proud as any ruler, but bring up the subject of girls and he flushed like a schoolboy. "Did you have someone in mind?" he questioned in a nonchalant way, giving Syaoran an imploring look._

_"Iie!" he said quickly, perhaps too quickly to be taken as the truth. "Ano . . . I mean, well . . . of course not. Wh-whoever you would see fit, Fujitaka-sama."_

_"I think it is best if you choose for yourself, Syaoran-kun," Fujitaka suggested. He elaborated when Syaoran gave him a questioning look. "Although this is not a love-match, I assume that is what you will tell your brother-in-law."_

_"Hai," Syaoran confirmed._

_"Then I will allow you to decide – it will look more plausible that way, rather than my making a choice based on political criteria," Fujitaka explained._

_As Syaoran left, Fujitaka had resigned himself then and there to the loss of his eldest daughter, only to lose the beautiful and charming Ayame instead. Although, Fujitaka would never know how close it had come at the time, or what had been sacrificed, he only knew that if he had to let his Sakura go, he was glad it was him._

* * *

"Fujitaka-sama," Syaoran cautioned, bringing Fujitaka back to the present, "I know this may seem impertinent, but I think we should bring the wedding forward."

"Syaoran-kun, surely it can wait a week," Fujitaka protested.

"I know, sir," he replied, "but there are urgent matters in my own kingdom I must attend to, and I don't like leaving them for so long."

"I understand, Syaoran-kun," the elder king nodded. "And what of Gensou? Do you have word of his plans?"

"He has not said anything, although I doubt he will continue if he does not have my support," Syaoran promised plainly. "I have spread rumours of my 'enamour' with one of the Kinomoto princesses and leaked word of a woman staying in my palace. When Gensou comes to investigate, itt should be enough to convince him that Sakura-san and I have been secretly planning our nuptials this whole time and that it is a marriage of love rather than convenience."

"And which is it?" Fujitaka asked, giving the young king a hard look he often used as a means of getting the truth out of reluctant orators.

Syaoran sighed and bowed his head. "The fact that you ask that question tells me you already know the answer," he replied, not looking up to see Fujitaka nod his assent.

"I will not question your motives, Syaoran-kun, or what changed your mind," Fujitaka said slowly. "You will have your work cut out for you. Sakura does not easily change her mind, and so you will find yourself already at a disadvantage when it comes to her."

Syaoran nodded, feeling disheartened by Fujitaka's honest words. Fujitaka came near, placing a warm hand on the shoulder of his future son-in-law. "It will not be easy," he continued, reiterating his previous words, "but it will be worth it."

Syaoran smiled half-heartedly as his features were glazed with a wistful expression.

"It already is."

~ to be continued ~

And so with another chapter completed, even more confusion is created. A couple of you already noticed Syaoran's interest in Sakura in the previous chapter. I did try to leave a few subtle hints in the way that he spoke to Sakura (he used 'san' for the other sisters but 'chan' for Sakura) and sits up straight when she enters a room. There's also a line when he's speaking with Chiharu which will make more sense two chapters from now, but it essentially amounts to a borderline declaration of his undying love for Sakura.

Hope you enjoyed and please review.

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**Next chapter: Two-parter. A quick detour back to Sakura and Syaoran's first meeting.**

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Note:** You guys all know what 'no' and 'yes' are in Japanese, right? I'll assume that you've all been reading fanfics long enough that those two are self-explanatory.


	4. When I Fall in Love

See, wasn't lying about regular updates this time. Enjoy!

* * *

Administrative stuff

Summary: Li Syaoran must return to Kinomoto Kingdom with the remains of his fiancée after her tragic demise. But a marriage is still required to unite the two families, and now Syaoran has his pick of the six remaining daughters of Kinomoto Fujitaka for the sake of both their kingdoms. Romance/Mystery

Ages:  
Kinomoto Touya: 27yrs  
Li Syaoran: 22 yrs (almost 23)  
Kinomoto Sakura: 21 yrs  
Kinomoto Tomoyo: 20 yrs  
Kinomoto Ayame: 18 yrs (dec)  
Kinomoto Meilin: 18 yrs  
Kinomoto Chiharu: 17 yrs  
Kinomoto Naoko: 16 yrs  
Kinomoto Rika: 15 yrs

Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura.

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It's Only Love – Love Today: Part I

It took Syaoran only a week to fall in love with Kinomoto Sakura – probably less, but in his mind it was the cumulative effects of the week that did it, and not any single incident.

When he arrived in the Reed Kingdom, which was to some extent a subsidiary of his own, he had no idea she would be there. Truth be told he hardly knew who she was except for a vague memory from his childhood of a pretty green-eyed girl with honey blonde hair – a girl whom he had pushed into a pond because his sisters had giggled and teased him about being in love with the girl simply because he blushed when she spoke to him. He wasn't in love with her then – he was merely six for gods sakes – but clearly, given time . . .

It happened nearly a year before he eventually asked for Ayame's hand in marriage. It was sixteen months, two weeks, and two days between his first sighting of Sakura and their marriage. He remembered the date for no other reason than the fact that it honestly changed his life – he had been given a glimpse of something wonderful, and such promise could never been forgotten.

He spotted her out in the marketplace when he arrived in town. By coincidence she had come with her brother and his wife to visit the King – Touya's brother-in-law – Reed Yue, just as Syaoran had come to counsel the King on strategy and war craft. As soon as he saw her, though, all thoughts of strategy, politics, and anything else left him completely. He was struck by her beauty in an instant – she was clearly some sort of angel sent to earth, and he wondered how one so unworthy as him could be so fortunate as to be graced with the mere sight of her.

"Who is she?" he asked breathlessly aloud, an unwavering gaze watching her graceful movements. His manservant, Wei, caught the words he hadn't meant to speak aloud and grinned at Syaoran's awestruck expression before he replied.

"That is Princess Sakura of the Kinomoto Kingdom and her brother the Crown Prince Touya," he said in a stately tone that gave nothing away, pointing out the tall young monarch that Syaoran had failed to notice.

"Sakura," Syaoran uttered aloud, her name sparking a forgotten memory and nestling itself in his heart.

For a while he could do nothing but gaze upon her. He followed her around at a distance like some creepy stalker, Wei only grinning beatifically at Syaoran's strange behaviour. The manservant was not particularly surprised that the only woman to capture and sustain his master's interest was the beautiful Kinomoto Sakura – rumours were already spreading about the way she handled her suitors, and it would amuse Wei endlessly to see his shy master received the same treatment. Although he doubted he would.

But stories, they would discover, said nothing about Sakura's true nature. They said nothing of what Syaoran was about to find out and the girl he eventually fell in love with.

A small boy ran into her path, tripping into a puddle that splashed mud over the front hem of her skirt. Syaoran cringed, knowing he was about to have his beautiful illusion shattered. Sakura was a princess, after all, and he had seen noble women of lower standing blow up over less.

But Sakura's tantrum never came. Instead of screaming blue murder at the boy who had clearly not intended to do her dress damage, she knelt down to comfort him, ripping the hem off her dress when she saw he was bleeding from the fall.

Had he not seen it with his own eyes, he probably wouldn't have believed it, but in that moment . . . he fell in love with her kindness.

* * *

The two princes of the Reed Kingdom, Kero and Spinnel, greeted Syaoran respectfully when he arrived at the castle. He suspected that their older brother must have been near by (or at least have given them the hard word on things) as Kero was _never _that polite and Spinnel usually chillingly cordial. Syaoran didn't waste much thought on it – a greeting was a greeting and he would not hold it against Yue for insisting his brother's show a little more respect to certain visitors.

"Is Yue-san in?" Syaoran asked as his cape was taken by one of the servants.

Spinnel nodded and responded in a tight upper class tone. "He is presently occupied by some business," the darker haired brother responded, blue eyes studying Syaoran with a knowing expression that made the young king shudder. "Perhaps you would like to take some tea in the drawing room while you wait."

"That would be nice," Syaoran replied tightly, knowing there was no question in Spinnel's statement.

He followed behind Spinnel, who turned quickly in the direction in of the drawing room. Kero hung back, giving him a narrowed glance as he walked beside him. "You better not get any ideas, gaki," Kero told him in a menacing tone.

"Excuse me?" Syaoran asked, not knowing where this was coming from.

"You'll do, but if I hear anything, so help me-"

"Kero," Spinnel said sharply, stopping his brother mid-sentence. His expression changed, and he melded the word into some other thought. "Perhaps you and I should fetch someone to serve our guests. Come now, brother."

Kero reluctantly left with Spinnel, and Syaoran was left to wonder whether his distant cousins had always been so strange. The Reed's were clearly some strange part of the family that no one really liked to talk about unless it was completely necessary. There was obviously a reason why they were not invited to dinner parties.

With a shake of his head, he stepped into the drawing room they had left him outside. He was shocked to see the room was already occupied, but shouldn't have been. Kero and Spinnel had dropped more than enough hints, and it was clear now what Kero's unveiled threat was referring to.

The pretty nineteen-year-old girl gasped at the sight of him, but recovered quickly. She stood, as it was polite to do when a monarch such as himself entered a room, and gave a sweet little curtsy and soft smile. She had perfect court manners, which pleased a small part of him that thought of what a wonderful wife she would be.

"Good evening, Li-heika," she said as she gave a second bow, her cheeks a healthy shade of pink.

Syaoran inwardly beamed. _She knows who I am!_ called the excited little boy inside of him, jumping up and down with joy. "Good evening," he replied coolly, the only evidence of his thoughts being the blush that streaked across his cheeks.

She smiled at him, and for a moment he could have sworn his heart stopped. "I guess you don't remember me," she said with a playful frown. "We met when I was four and you were six."

He blinked at her, surprised she could remember something so long ago in the past. She seemed to understand his confusion, and gave him another sweet smile before elaborating. "You pushed me into a lake, Li-san," she added with the same sweet smile.

Syaoran froze and suddenly wished that he could find some rock to crawl under and die. It was just his luck that he would find himself alone with the girl of his dreams, and already have undermined the whole thing. He hadn't even met her – not properly at least – but he had already messed up the first impression.

But Sakura didn't look mad. Instead she smiled at him and giggled at his expression. "I'm glad you remember me now," she told him. "I'd hate to think that you habitually went around pushing little girls into lakes. It would be awful to be just one in a long lines of girls that received the same treatment."

Her smile was infectious, and he shared it even though he really did feel terrible about what he had done. Her teasing pulled him a little out of his shell (Syaoran had never been particularly good with girls) and he returned it with a rather brave statement, at least by Syaoran's standards. "From my memory it was a pond," he countered smoothly, surprised when his voice didn't shake or stutter from the effort. He even managed a challenging smirk that both irked and enthralled Sakura.

She gave him a sceptical look. "A pond?" she asked him, sounding unconvinced. "Perhaps it really was some other little girl," she said with a mock pout before launching into a dramatic triad about how he had betrayed the sanctity of what they had.

She was being plain cheeky now, but Syaoran was enjoying himself too much to admonish her. "I'm sure it was you, and I am sure it was a pond," he replied once she was done with her monologue. "Perhaps you only thought it was a lake because you were very small."

Sakura pouted, her height having always been a touchy subject given her brother's propensity to balance things upon her head. She fumed a little, her cheeks turning an enticing shade of red and her eyes flaring with anger. Everything about her seemed to come to life in the most beautiful way.

She began a fresh triad, stepping into a fighting stance to emphasise her point. "Perhaps, Li-san –"

"Syaoran," he said cutting her off impulsively. He blushed when she stopped, stepping back and giving him a cute, quizzical look with her head tilted to one side. "You should call me 'Syaoran'," he told her, his words heavy with embarrassment as he spoke.

"Oh," Sakura replied, a blush forming on her cheeks as the redness of anger left them. "Well only if you call me 'Sakura'," she insisted, smiling brightly at him in response. Not that he saw it, as Syaoran was too busy looking down at his feet.

"Well, Sakura-chan," he said, testing the name in his mouth. It sent a thrill of excitement through his body, and he wondered how often he could legitimately use it without looking rather creepy.

"Yes, Syaoran-kun?" she asked, doing the same.

"Sakura, I-"

"Oi, you gaki!" a voice called suddenly, halting Syaoran in whatever he had intended to say at that moment. "What are you doing in here alone with the kajuu?"

"Sakura is not a kajuu!" Sakura yelled huffily, forgetting all about Syaoran for the moment as she stormed over and slammed the heel of her shoe into the bridge of her brother's foot.

Touya was howling in pain, and Sakura was beaming with triumph. And there she was lighting up again, like a vision of fury. And there was Syaoran, falling in love – of all things – with her temper.

* * *

Touya glared at him all through Yue's introductions and dinner (and the aperitifs now that he thought about it) . . . and dessert . . . and coffee . . . and quiet conversation . . . and finally through a game of charades. Afterwards Syaoran couldn't help but wonder if maybe Touya's face was fashioned into a permanent scowl.

Although, Syaoran couldn't blame Touya for looking sulky all throughout the charades; it was, without a doubt, the worst game in existence. Syaoran had never been fond of word games, but charades took his disdain to a whole new level.

_'What is in horse but not in course?'_ Syaoran thought blandly to himself. '_How about what is in 'fire truck off', but not it 'tier'?'_ Perhaps a bit of a harsh thought, but surely you'd feel the same if you had been playing the game for an hour with a tall, dark-haired man glaring daggers at you the whole time.

Just a glance around the table showed him that his sentiment was like shared by all but one of his companions around the table. Spinnel had excused himself early, claiming he had some reading he needed to catch up on. Kero had tried to withstand it as long as he could, but gave up almost 30 minutes in, unable to stand any more of the tedium. Yue and Touya diligently continued because Nakuru seemed to be the only person on the planet who actually found the game enjoyable and both seemed to love her enough to withstand the torture for her benefit alone.

And why, you might ask, was Syaoran continuing to play the least fun game in all of history? Because Sakura was playing, of course.

She was terrible at it, there was no denying that, but she tried her best to get into the spirit of things and had happily engaged Syaoran and Yue in some smack talk to try and liven things up. It was highly inappropriate talk for a lady of her status, but Sakura hardly seemed to mind. She was simply herself, and took no heed of the fact that she had just told one of the kings at the table that he had the intelligence of mildly conscious mung bean for failing to understand why the letter 's' was the only possible answer to the clue 'What is in sponge cake but not in scream?' to which he responded, that she was a good deal lucky she had her looks to fall back on, as by her logic the answer could only be eggs, sugar, flour and milk. The clue really should have said 'what is left in scream that is not in sponge cake', but even then it was difficult to phrase the question in such a way as to meet the rules of charades and make sense.

For a moment she looked mildly offended, and Syaoran really did think he had done it that time. He'd been so caught up in the spirit of their mini insult war that he had forgotten that he was trading insults with a girl (and more importantly, _the_ girl) of noble blood and with a rather intimidating older brother who wouldn't hesitate to injure him if she asked it. But then she burst forth into a beautiful laugh, tears stinging the corners of her eyes as she tried to control herself.

"Oh, Syaoran-kun," she said cheerfully, earning Syaoran another glare from Touya who did not like the fact that her sister was on a first name basis with any male that wasn't already a eunuch. "I haven't laughed that hard in such a long time. Who knew charades could be so fun?

"Well, I'm off to bed," she said, jumping up from her seat. "Good night," she said as she kissed both her brother and sister-in-law on the cheek, and gave Yue a quick hug (mostly because she knew how much he didn't like it). She paused at Syaoran before deciding that he too could have a hug, wrapping her arms around him and briefly burying her head in his chest.

For Syaoran, nothing else had ever felt so right. The way she fit into his arms was like perfection; like finding the last piece of a puzzle when he'd been missing it all his life. He'd never felt so complete or at ease or anything else among a plethora of emotions that hit him at that point.

She lingered in his arms just a moment longer than was appropriate, but Syaoran certainly wasn't complaining. Of all the things to love about her in that moment, it was her inner-strength and conviction that really stood out. Sakura was not afraid to be herself, and didn't lose who she was to the conventions of their society. He both envied and loved that about her, and hoped that with a little time, some of her 'Sakura-ness' might rub off on him.

~ to be continued ~

Much better length this time. My favourite line in the story is the one about Touya and eunuchs.

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**Next chapter: Part two.**

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Note:** Charades, not as we commonly know it, is a word game from the 17th or 18th Century, which uses verbal clues in the form of riddles to find words. A proper example would be the following:

The first is me, and is not you;  
The second is round, and may be hurled.  
Together these things, I have but two,  
Help me see all wonders within this world.

It's an Eye-ball (the first being a hominem and the second a definition). Charades might also take the form of revealing the letters by elimination as it did above.


	5. It Will be Forever

Because these two really shouldn't have been separated, you all get two updates in one week. Next update will be Monday (my time, so Sunday for almost everyone else) so watch out for it.

* * *

Administrative stuff

Summary: Li Syaoran must return to Kinomoto Kingdom with the remains of his fiancée after her tragic demise. But a marriage is still required to unite the two families, and now Syaoran has his pick of the six remaining daughters of Kinomoto Fujitaka for the sake of both their kingdoms. Romance/Mystery

Ages:  
Kinomoto Touya: 27yrs  
Li Syaoran: 22 yrs (almost 23)  
Kinomoto Sakura: 21 yrs  
Kinomoto Tomoyo: 20 yrs  
Kinomoto Ayame: 18 yrs (dec)  
Kinomoto Meilin: 18 yrs  
Kinomoto Chiharu: 17 yrs  
Kinomoto Naoko: 16 yrs  
Kinomoto Rika: 15 yrs

Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura.

_

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It's Only Love – Love Today: Part II

From that first sighting, Syaoran spent the next six days falling in love with everything there was to fall in love with about Kinomoto Sakura. Her laugh, her smile, her irrepressible cheer. Everything about her enchanted him, and even her most unattractive personality traits made him love her more.

On the second day he fell in love with her silliness. Nakuru and Sakura (both grown women – Nakuru was even older than Syaoran) were playing a game of tag around the castle and the latter almost knocked the wind out of him as he was coming around a corner. Not that he minded too much – how could he with Sakura fussing over him to make sure he was alright?

She apologised profusely, trying to explain how their strange game had started in a very long tale that for some strange reason seemed to start at Sakura's tenth birthday and finish at some point in the distant future. He absorbed every word, listening ever so intently until she was done.

"So what you're saying is all this started because there was a bee in your hair?" he questioned, quite certain that he had captured the gist of her story.

Sakura nodded sheepishly, giving him an apologetic look. Syaoran couldn't resist smiling at her when she was looking at him so sweetly.

"I'll forgive you, Sakura-chan," he told her with a smirk forming on his lips and a plan in his mind, "but on one condition."

"Ne, you can't do that," Sakura protested, pouting as she crossed her slim arms petulantly over chest. The apologetic demeanour was all gone, and replaced with a slight air of haughtiness. It was almost as though she'd never had someone accept her apology in such a manner.

"It was a genuine accident and I only apologised out of courteousness," she added, looking fiery and challenging once again. "Forgiveness is an act of charity, Syaoran-kun, and not subject to conditions."

He knew when she said his name that she was not genuinely angry with him, and so felt safe to continue riling her up ever so slightly. "But you haven't even heard my condition, Sakura-chan," he argued with a teasing smirk. "You might like it."

Sakura blushed genuinely as she feigned outrage at the salacious under tone. "I assure you that I will not enjoy any condition you impose upon me, Syaoran-kun," she told him in an affronted tone holding a hand to her breast, "but I will comply regardless. I am, after all, a woman of honour."

"Good," Syaoran agreed, "so you'll meet at the stables on Saturday at nine and I'll explain the rest of my condition from there."

"If I must," she replied reluctantly, giving him a conspiratory wink before turning on her heel and leading Nakuru away with her.

As they left, he heard Nakuru whisper something along the lines of "I think my dear little cousin has a crush on you, imouto-chan" with a happy sigh. Sakura made no reply, but glanced back over her shoulder for one last look at Syaoran, a blush streaking over her features as she met his eye and hurried away.

And although it was her silliness that he fell in love with in that moment, perhaps it was really the fact that with Sakura, he could be a little silly too.

* * *

The majority of his days were taken up with talking strategy with the other men. Kero was surprisingly very good at this, not that Syaoran would admit this. Like he and Touya, Syaoran and Kero had been instant enemies.

Despite having his time monopolized, Syaoran still found the opportunity to find loveliness in Sakura. On his third day it was her clumsiness, if for no other reason than it gave him the perfect excuse for staying close to her and holding her like the delicate thing that she was. When he caught her helping out in the kitchen on the fourth day (he'd heard her voice and gone to investigate, only to find her covered in flour and laughing at herself) it was her down-to-earth nature. When he saw her in the garden on the fifth day making daisy chains with Yue's son, it was her sweetness (although at the time he had been a little put out by the ten-year-old's insistence that he would marry Sakura when he was big enough). When, in a brief moment of rest on his sixth day, he had accompanied her and Kero to do some fishing, it was her determination, along with the fact that she wasn't just a prim little princess.

By the time Saturday morning rolled around, he was surprised there was anything else to fall in love with, but as he entered the stable, he caught a glimpse of her bathed in the morning sun, and was struck entirely. She was a vision. She was a creature of dreams. She was everything.

Sakura caught him staring, smiling a little to herself as she hoped that his expression meant what she thought it meant. She pouted asking, "why are you looking at me so intently?" as she crossed her arms protectively over her figure.

"I suppose I'm just a little surprised," Syaoran answered with surprising cool, recovering himself with a white lie, "after all, my cousins told me you were notorious for your sleep ins."

"Not when it's this important," she whispered lowly to herself, but Syaoran did not catch her heartfelt words. Instead she covered it with her own white lie. "I was up anyways with Nakuru-chan," she explained, blushing a little as she spoke. "She's been having terrible morning sickness. The doctor thinks she needs some country air until she's back to her senses."

"She's pregnant?" Syaoran asked, the news surprising him. "In her condition . . . should she really be . . . well . . ." he struggled to find the words, and with a happy laugh, Sakura kindly finished the thought for him.

"So Nakuru?" she suggested.

"Precisely," Syaoran agreed. It was the only word for her stunts, and he was sure that sort of behaviour couldn't be conducive to her current condition. Between chasing her sister-in-law around the castle and attacking her husband with a bone crushing hug every time she saw him, Nakuru was constantly on her feet and racing around, which did not seem like the right sort of regime for a pregnant woman to engage in.

Sakura shrugged in response to his question. "You know she's calmed down a lot since her and 'nii-chan married," she offered. "Once she gets bigger she'll really have no choice in the matter."

He nodded thoughtfully and the two lapsed into a comfortable silence. Well, sort of. Sakura shifted uncomfortably, her eyes gazing shyly at the young king before she found the courage to break the silence. "So, what was your condition?" she asked curiously. "It better be good, or else I might decide that I don't want you to accept my apology," she added with feigned indifference.

"It's not much," he answered, feeling that irrepressible urge to tease her build up once again. He was starting to understand a little why her brother always insisted on calling her kaijuu, often to his detriment. "Only that you have to spend the whole day with me."

She considered his proposition with a sweet gesture of mock thought, her index finger tapping lazily on the corner of her mouth. "It seems an awful lot for something so small as an apology," she said, returning his tease.

"I know," he replied, breaking the jovial mood for one of total sincerity, "but it would mean so much to me, Sakura, if you would agree to do so."

She smiled gently at his confession, her cheeks not failing to turn a fetching shade of red as she replied with a quiet "I think I'd like that too" and extending her hand towards Syaoran. He took it immediately in his own, his whole body feeling warm as they shared this quasi-embrace. He began to lead her on a short walk, a picnic basket hanging from his free hand as they went.

Syaoran was always surprised by how freely he could talk to her and how much he enjoyed doing so. He was naturally a quiet young man prone to bouts of silence, but with Sakura he wanted nothing more than to narrate the world around them and watch as she attended to every word he said. She listened carefully, offering her own insights when necessary, but generally happy to simply hear him speak of everything and anything that came to mind.

"Here," he said when they stopped by a small lake. He reluctantly let go of her so he could lay down a blanket on the grass, before quickly returning to her side so that he could help her to her seat.

She gave him a mock look of admonishment, swatting away his hand as he attempted to prepare an apple for her consumption. "You know I'm not one of those delicate princesses that need everything done for them, Syaoran," she told him, half smiling as she gave him a semi-stern telling off. "I am perfectly capable of eating an apple you know, skin and all." She punctuated her point by taking an almost harsh bite into the apple.

Syaoran couldn't help but smile at her. "Forgive me," he responded, feigning a look to match hers, "I just can't help but want to do things for you, Sakura. I want to do everything in my power to make you as comfortable and happy as humanly possible."

"Stop getting mushy on me," she teased, assuming that it was part of their teasing game, and so not taking him seriously at first. "When did you turn into such a sap?"

"I'm not usually," he admitted, taking a deep breath to find his courage, "but I'm hoping you'll allow me one last sappy moment."

Sakura's eyes widened as she realised that he was being completely genuine and that whatever the words that came next out of his mouth were, they would change her life forever. She nodded cautiously, urging him to continue.

"Kinomoto Sakura," he began, his breath leaving him a ragged 'woosh', "you are . . . wonderful. I have never met anyone in my life so entrancing, so kind, so lovely, so enthusiastic . . . so wonderful.

"A-a-and," he began to stutter, losing some of his nerve after his near confession of love as he arrived at the very important question he needed to ask her, "I w-would like your permission t-to court you."

He shut his eyes tight, fearing the worst. Even he was not deaf to the rumours of Sakura and her suitors, and he expected at the very least a slap to the face; at most he expected a death warrant from Touya - one that the Crown Prince would happily mete out himself. Instead what he got was a gentle hand placed to his cheeks, forcing his eyes open in shock and disbelief.

"I would like that very much, Syaoran-kun," she told him warmly, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

And just when he thought there was nothing left to fall in love with about Kinomoto Sakura, that gentle look pushed him right over the edge. He loved her smile, her laugh, her sweetness, her beauty, her silliness, her stubbornness, and everything there was to love about any one person. He even loved her clumsiness. But most of all he just loved her, and everything that entailed. He loved her like he had never loved anyone before and like he would never love anyone again.

Not even Kinomoto Ayame.

'But what of Kinomoto Sakura?' you might ask. What of her feelings?

She had a whole week with Li Syaoran; a whole week to fall in love with his occasional smiles, his concerned eyes, his shyness and stoic exterior, but her feelings remained unchanged. She didn't fall in love that week, not even a little, for she was already in love with a stubborn little boy who pushed her into a lake fifteen years ago.

Only now that she thought about it, it might have been a pond.

~ to be continued ~

Another piece of the puzzle falls into place. Any guesses on the full picture?

* * *

**Next chapter: The moment you've all been waiting for . . . Touya arrives at the Kinomoto palace . . .**

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* * *

Note:** If you've read much else of what I've written, you'll probably have noticed that I have a tendency to change the order that characters fell in love/realized their feelings, but in this case, it is because of my firm belief that Yukito totally 'ankle blocked' Syaoran's mojo and had he got in first, none such blocking would have occurred. So, yeah, Sakura liked him first and has for fifteen years. Sweet, right? And the week together only confirmed her feelings for him insert collective 'awww'.

I also tried to imply the reason for Touya's absence thus far. He's in the country with Nakuru because she's pregnant again. In other words, he doesn't know that there are death threats to be issued and asses to kick, but he soon will.


	6. Good News Travels Fast

Yay Touya-ness! Love Touya. He's probably my favourite character in CCS and (in my opinion) deserved way more screen time (and a more awesome boyfriend/girlfriend because Yukito is bland and like a 3.5 relative to Touya's 10) than they gave him. Note: this chapter includes more TxN fluffiness.

* * *

Administrative stuff

Summary: Li Syaoran must return to Kinomoto Kingdom with the remains of his fiancée after her tragic demise. But a marriage is still required to unite the two families, and now Syaoran has his pick of the six remaining daughters of Kinomoto Fujitaka for the sake of both their kingdoms. Romance/Mystery

Ages:  
Kinomoto Touya: 27yrs  
Li Syaoran: 22 yrs (almost 23)  
Kinomoto Sakura: 21 yrs  
Kinomoto Tomoyo: 20 yrs  
Kinomoto Ayame: 18 yrs (dec)  
Kinomoto Meilin: 18 yrs  
Kinomoto Chiharu: 17 yrs  
Kinomoto Naoko: 16 yrs  
Kinomoto Rika: 15 yrs

Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura.

_

* * *

_

It's Only Love – Good News Travels Fast

_Present_

"My darling," Touya uttered gently as they approached the castle gates, shaking awake the sleeping figure next to him. She stirred slowly, blinking at the familiar surroundings.

"Why did you wake me?" she asked him drowsily, a pout forming on her red lips. "I was having a wonderful dream where you were the poor stable boy and I the lonely mistress of the house, cavorting in forbidden circumstances."

He chuckled at her expression, kissing away her frown a moment later. "That's it," he commanded, throwing on his rarely used princely tone, "no more romance novels for you, Nakuru. Your imagination is already twisted enough as is.

"And I woke you because we're almost home," he added before she could demand an answer to her previous question. "Also, I think Yumi-chan needs changing," he finished, handing off the almost one year old to his now fully awake wife. Yumiko gurgled appreciatively, not understanding that this was for her father's benefit more than her own.

Nakuru sniffed the air as she took the baby from her husband. "As much as you think otherwise, Touya, you are perfectly capable of changing a diaper," she scolded in an even tone as she made silly faces at their daughter. "And she doesn't need changing. If she did you'd definitely know."

"Then what's the smell?" he asked unconvinced by her appraisal.

Nakuru shrugged indifferently. "The horses most likely. Yumiko's fine," she told him blandly. "Isn't that right, Yumi-chan?" she asked the little girl who only giggled in response. Touya had the decency to look somewhat embarrassed.

"I bet your oba-san's are looking forward to seeing you again," she told the little one, bouncing the child on her knee. The little girl giggled again, her dark brown eyes lighting happily as she received her mother's attention.

"Are you sure you'll be okay here?" Touya cut in seriously, his eyes darkening with concern.

"Of course," Nakuru replied, leaning in to kiss his cheek. "There haven't been any problems at all this time, and I refuse to miss Ayame-chan and Syaoran-kun's wedding just because I'm pregnant. I promise to follow all the doctor's instructions and get lots of rest."

Touya nodded reluctantly, knowing he would have to simply concede the matter. It wasn't like he had any way of stopping her, and going against Nakuru's will could be like ramming your head against brick wall at times. They'd been in the country for the last few months as Touya had taken every precaution with their second child, whisking her away at the slightest sign of illness. He didn't want to risk a repeat of her last pregnancy.

He sighed with relief, watching his wife and daughter with a serious gaze. He had almost lost the both of them when Yumiko was born, and yet you'd never know by the look of them. They were both so full of life that Touya counted his blessings every day that he was with them.

Soon they were through the gates and on the castle grounds, their carriage pulling up along side several others. "I wonder what's happening?" Nakuru mused aloud, curious as to what had brought so many people to the Kinomoto castle all at once. She hoped that it was only because they had arrived early for the wedding, and not for some grave reason.

One of the courtiers opened the carriage door for them and Touya stepped out as Nakuru situated a slightly fussy Yumiko into her bassinet. Touya took the basket in one hand while guiding his wife down the steps with the other, his concerned eyes never leaving her form.

"Touya! Nakuru-chan!" a voice called loudly by way of greeting and the two turned to see Touya's best friend, Tsukishiro Yukito, racing across the lawn towards them.

"Yuki-kun!" Nakuru cried, returning his cheerful greeting in kind to the point that Touya had to restrain his five and a half month pregnant wife from racing over to meet him. Touya acknowledge his friend with a friendly nod of his head.

"You two sure are cutting it close," Yukito commented, stopping (just barely) in front of them. "For a second I was worried you might not make it in time for the wedding."

"You are looking well," he added with a courteous nod towards Nakuru. "And you, Yumiko-hime," he said, bowing to the bassinet also, which had been returned to Nakuru. Yumiko's expression beamed with delight even though she didn't know what was so funny about the situation – all she knew was that her mother was smiling and laughing, and that generally signalled her own happiness.

"What do you mean 'might not make it'?" Touya asked suspiciously, his eyes narrowing and his expression darkening as those around him turned to warm smiles. "The wedding isn't until next week. We arrived early so that Nakuru and Yumiko could settle in."

"How strange?" Yukito replied, his expression clouding a little with confusion. "The telegram must have been delayed. We sent it as soon as possible, but something must have held it up.

"No worries," Yukito concluded happily, his expression changing back to his usual smile. "All that matters is that you made it. Sakura-san would have been very disappointed if you hadn't."

Touya could imagine. Sakura would probably hold it over his head for the rest of his life. She would consider a failure to attend his own sister's wedding a serious crime, even if Ayame herself thought nothing of it.

"But _why _was the wedding brought forward?" Touya insisted, unhappy that he had been left out of the loop in his absence.

"It's nothing," Yukito replied assuringly, sensing Touya's worry under the pushy exterior. "Li-heika just had some business couldn't be left, so the wedding was brought forward."

Touya snorted derisively, unimpressed by the response. "Damn brat," he muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. "Can't even make time for his own wedding. What kind of husband does that?

"Sakura's better off without him," he added in a low murmur meant only for his wife's ears.

Nakuru snorted aloud at his first comment, ignoring the second. "Says the husband who made me wait three weeks for our wedding night?" she asked sardonically.

Touya blushed at the recollection. He was, admittedly, slow to consummate the marriage, but thought he could hardly be blamed for that. Nakuru had scared him to death from the moment he met her, and while he loved her now in a way that defied reason, the marriage had been political one rather than one borne of romantic notions.

Much like his sister's upcoming nuptials . . . or so he thought.

"Now be nice to Syaoran-kun," she admonished lightly. "I'm sure he will make a very good husband and he will grant his wife her every desire.

"Even if she is not the one he truly wanted," she finished sadly, thinking back to a week almost a year and a half ago when she saw two people blossom under one another's influence. She couldn't help but feel disappointed that in the end, Syaoran had followed his head and not his heart.

Yukito nodded slowly, sharing in the sombre mood brought on by Nakuru's words. "He and Ayame-san would have had a happy marriage," Yukito said sincerely, "but I'm sure that Li-heika and Sakura-san will do their best to make their marriage just as happy."

In truth, Yukito thought Syaoran and Sakura made a much better match than Syaoran and Ayame, but thought it would be inappropriate to say with Nakuru looking so saddened by Ayame's passing.

Touya took a moment to digest the words, his expression turning furious as the words slowly sinking in. "That Li brat is marrying Sakura! How dare he?"

Nakuru, in contrast, actually looked quite pleased with the turn of events. She felt a little bad for Ayame – after all, to be shunned for her older sister did not look good – but she was overwhelmingly pleased that Syaoran had picked Sakura in the end.

"Why is that brat not marrying Ayame?" Touya yelled, becoming increasingly more furious with each passing moment.

"Oh dear," Yukito said quietly, turning his head from Touya's penetrating gaze. "It appears you did not get any of our telegrams.

"I'm very sorry, Touya-san," Yukito said with a quick bow of respect. "Ayame-san is dead and so a marriage was arranged between Li-heika and Sakura-san due to the importance of the alliance."

Touya was positively livid, his words coming out in nonsensical guttural groans. "He . . . she . . . his neck, that . . . I should . . . gaki!" was all that could be made out as he suddenly stormed away from his family and friend.

"Where's he going?" Yukito asked, blinking back his surprise.

"To try and talk Otou-san out of it," Nakuru replied with an easy smile, her amusement at Touya's extreme behaviour clearly evident. "And when that doesn't work, he'll try Sakura-chan. He'll only try Syaoran-kun if he's really desperate."

Yukito just shook his head. "I can't help but feel as though I'm missing something here," he sighed despondently, still watching an angry Touya storm towards the castle.

"We all are," Nakuru agreed consolingly, "but because it's Sakura-chan, it will surely be alright.

"Don't you think she and Syaoran-kun make the most adorable couple?" she added excitedly, distracted Yukito before he put any more thought into the matter. "I do. I think they're absolutely perfect together."

"I thought the same," Yukito admitted sheepishly as he offered Nakuru his arm. "I think they have much potential for happiness, and maybe even love."

"And best of all," Nakuru concluded giddily, "now I'll be doubly related to Sakura-chan. We'll be cousins-in-laws!"

"Nakuru-chan, I'm not sure it works that way," Yukito corrected cautiously, a sweat drop descending slowly. "And I thought you an Li-heika were only distantly related."

He paused momentarily, but catching Nakuru's disappointed look he hastily continued. "But now that he's marrying Sakura-san you guys will be in-laws."

Nakuru cheered up immensely at that prospect and demanded that he bring her immediately to Touya's sisters. Yukito did so, leaving Nakuru at the door for his own safety.

Rika, the youngest, greeted her happily at the door before guiding her sister-in low into the room. "Rika-chan, you look so kawaii!" she cheered at her littlest sister, wrapping the girl in a one armed hug as she flounced into the room. "You're all so kawaii!" she added as she saw four more girls all in their gowns.

"Arigatou," the five girls responded altogether as Nakuru sat down with Yumiko's bassinet and took the baby in her arms once again.

"Is . . . uh onii-chan here too?" Sakura asked nervously already knowing the answer, but a part of her wishing Touya would be unduly delayed. She knew her brother well enough to know he would not approve of today's events.

"Of course," Nakuru replied. "Don't worry," she added quietly, winking at Sakura, "I'll make sure he doesn't interfere."

Sakura sighed with relief and turned her attention to Tomoyo. "So can I get my dress on now?" she asked pointedly, crossing her arms over her robed form.

Tomoyo shook her head. "I've still got some finishing touches to do on it," she replied as she moved suspiciously towards the door. "I'll be back," she insisted, disappearing before any protests could be made.

"Hmm," Naoko said thoughtfully as her eyes scanned the room, taking in the sorts of details that only a writer would bother to observe. "How strange," she mused aloud, a slight frown creasing her features.

"What is it?" Rika asked, noting her sister's odd expression.

"It's nothing," Naoko assured her, "only . . .

"She left the dress."

* * *

"How could you allow that gaki to marry Sakura?" Touya exclaimed loudly at his father, making no pretence of small talk once they'd been left alone.

"Touya-san, I trust your sister's judgment in these matters," Fujitaka argued calmly, his expression unchanging, "and I trust Syaoran-kun to provide for Sakura and do his best for her.

"What happened with Ayame-san was unfortunate, but it was in no way Syaoran-kun's fault," he continued, his voice falling solemnly. "He did everything he could in the circumstances."

"You think that's what this is about?" Touya ejaculated. "Why her?" he continued by way of explanation. "Why Sakura?"

"Because she is the one he wants," Fujitaka replied. "And she is the one with the least to lose."

Touya's features narrowed questioningly at Fujitaka's response, and so the elder Kinomoto continued almost reluctantly. "Chiharu has been in love with Yamazaki-kun almost since birth, and their engagement is due to be announced at the end of the month. Naoko would lose her freedom and I know she has no intention of giving that up without a fight.

"Rika-chan has been exchanging love notes with the girls' sensei, and I know he has been working up the courage to ask my formal permission since she came of age," he said, a ghost of a smile gracing his lips. "Flourite-san has been attempting to court your sister Meilin for a while now, almost against her will. I know that given time, he'll win her heart and the two will be very happy. I think Meilin-chan would lose herself in a marriage to Syaoran-kun.

"Tomoyo is harder to read," he said frowning to himself as some cheer left his voice, "but I know there is someone and that loving him, whoever he may be, is not easy for her. It would not be fair on her or Syaoran-kun for the two to marry with another in her heart, and I think Syaoran-kun already knows that.

"You know how important this marriage is for us, Touya-san," he told his son, reaching out consolingly. "Our chance against Gensou alone may be good, but if he has the Li forces allied with him, our kingdom will be desecrated. Syaoran-kun is doing what he can to avoid bloodshed and I know his decisions were not made easily."

Touya sighed, his anger cooling somewhat through Fujitaka's explanation. "Don't you want more than this for Sakura?" he asked desperately, having nothing left to argue. "Sakura is too" he paused to find the right word, "artless to be subject to a marriage of convenience. Ayame-san would have withstood it, but Sakura needs to be loved. It's what she deserves."

"Love will come," Fujitaka assured him, his glasses flashing knowingly. "I doubt anyone could stop themselves falling in love with Sakura-chan, even if they tried."

"Now, Touya-san," he said pausing to ensure that Touya had nothing left to say, "would you please go fetch my lovely granddaughter for me?"

Touya snorted disagreeably, still put out that he had failed to convince Fujitaka to find a different bride. "You won't be saying that when she throws up all over your clothes," he sulked, looking about half his age at the moment.

"Fujitaka-heika," Yukito called cautiously into the room making sure it was safe to enter. "Nakuru-chan sent me over."

Fujitaka called him in warmly, knowing that Nakuru had likely foreseen his request. He greedily took the almost one-year-old up in his arms, smiling gently as she tried to steal the glasses off his face. "Hello, Yumi-chan," he cooed. "You are even more lovely than I remember, even if your Otou-san would say otherwise," he said proudly, his smile broadening as Yumiko returned the expression with one of her own.

"Your Ojii-san lies, Yumi," Touya protested, placing a kiss to the crown of her head. "I should go get ready."

Fujitaka just nodded and silently dismissed him, although not before giving Touya a meaningful look that seemed to convey the words 'don't you dare try to talk your sister out of this' in the nicest possible way. Tomoyo cornered him as he left.

"You were listening?" he asked sternly, not all that surprised that she had been, but irked all the same.

"Yes," she replied simply, without guilt. "It wasn't anything I didn't already know," she added bemusedly.

"So who is he?" Touya demanded in an icy tone. "Who is it that is breaking your heart, imouto-chan?" he reiterated with more concern.

"It's not important," she replied breezily. "That's not what I came to talk to you about."

"Talk then," Touya responded, crossing his arms over his chest. "Tell me why Sakura is marrying that brat."

"Because she loves him," she told him succinctly.

"He broke her heart," Touya replied sullenly. "He chose Ayame-san."

Tomoyo shook her head. "You and I both know that Ayame-san wasn't Li-kun's first choice, and for whatever reason he chose her, it has nothing to do with the reasons why he chose Sakura-chan."

Touya frowned at her, conceding her argument. "What aren't you telling me, Tomoyo-chan?" he asked suspiciously. "You know the reason, don't you?"

"Yes," she admitted, "but it's certainly not for me to tell, and you don't need to know."

"But how do you know?" he questioned, irked once more.

Tomoyo just shrugged. "Let's just say that Ayame-chan wasn't as careful as she thought."

"And knowing what you know, imouto-chan," he said quite seriously, his eyes darkening with concern, "if you were me, would you let her marry him?"

Tomoyo seemed to consider the question for a moment, before giving her brother a bright, sincere smile.

"Yes."

~ to be continued ~

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**Next chapter: The wedding.**

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Note:**

I guess these two aren't quite so commonly seen in fanfiction, so a quick translation just in case the context hadn't alerted you to their meaning.

oba-san: aunt

ojii-san: grandfather

Also, does anyone know if there is a specific honorific or anything that should be used when referring to someone who is dead? It would be really helpful if anyone could let me know.


	7. Then Comes Marriage

This chapter is, strangely, the first time you actually get to see Ayame rather than just hearing her referred to. It's probably going to make you rethink the use of the word 'tragic'.

* * *

Administrative stuff

Summary: Li Syaoran must return to Kinomoto Kingdom with the remains of his fiancée after her tragic demise. But a marriage is still required to unite the two families, and now Syaoran has his pick of the six remaining daughters of Kinomoto Fujitaka for the sake of both their kingdoms. Romance/Mystery

Ages:  
Kinomoto Touya: 27yrs  
Li Syaoran: 22 yrs (almost 23)  
Kinomoto Sakura: 21 yrs  
Kinomoto Tomoyo: 20 yrs  
Kinomoto Ayame: 18 yrs (dec)  
Kinomoto Meilin: 18 yrs  
Kinomoto Chiharu: 17 yrs  
Kinomoto Naoko: 16 yrs  
Kinomoto Rika: 15 yrs

Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura.

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_

It's Only Love – Then Comes Marriage

_Approx. 7 months earlier_

_"Someone said Li-heika has come to visit father," one of her sister's said, although she wasn't sure which. Sakura's head darted up suddenly from what she had been absorbed in, the name jarring her from her own personal thoughts._

_"Syaoran's here?" she asked unthinkingly, forgetting to censor her thoughts before they exited her mouth. Five of her sister's gave her befuddled looks, while the sixth gave her a quick, encouraging smile. "I mean . . . that is Li Syaoran, correct?" she asked, trying to cover her mistake._

_They seemed to accept her response and moved on to innate conversation about the young monarch. "Yakira-chan says he's very handsome," Ayame commented, a thoughtful expression on her face as she recalled the words of one of her husband seeking friends. "Apparently he's the embodiment of a Greek statue – beautiful to look at, but cold as stone."_

_Sakura frowned to herself. Syaoran wasn't like that at all. He was shy, and so appeared aloof at first, but underneath that he was warm, and gentle, and caring. His beauty was only a corollary of all his other wonderful qualities._

_Ayame continued, and Sakura had to grit her teeth in order to keep her retorts to herself. "They say he's very snobbish and only cares about his kingdom," Ayame said in a stage voice, drawing the attention of the room to herself as she began to pace around as though this were some kind of performance. With her dark hair and green eyes, she was more stunning than any actress they had seen. "They say he has a heart of ice that nothing can melt, and that you would be more likely to find him in a war room than a ball room._

_"Although," she continued, pausing as though to emphasise her point, "he would make any woman a fine husband. They say a man who thinks only of war is an animal in the bedroom."_

_"Ayame!" Meilin spoke up, scandalized by her twin sister's open discussion of such matters. "You can't say that."_

_"Why not?" Ayame said casually, smiling now her aim had been achieved. "We are among women – family none the less. They need not know what goes on inside this room."_

_"I wonder why he's here?" Sakura mused aloud, having managed to drown out Ayame's conversation for the most part._

_"I bet he's here for a bride," Rika gasped excitedly. "I bet he wants to marry one of you."_

_Sakura barely withheld an excited gasp as Tomoyo gave her another encouraging look._

_"Well I hope it's not me," replied Chiharu who had just completed her first season. "Takashi says he's going to marry me, and I will accept nobody else as my husband."_

_"Well I refuse to marry, period," Naoko said, one upping her older sister. "What kind of woman would let herself get tied down to a man of all things?" The girls all laughed at the comment, very few realizing how serious she was about her resolve._

_"I wouldn't mind," Meilin said over the laughter, "especially if he's as handsome as Ayame says he is._

_"What about you, Sakura-chan?" she added, looking to her oldest sister who had remained unusually quiet throughout the whole interaction._

_"No, I suppose I wouldn't mind," she replied cautiously. "You know he's onee-chan's cousin," she added, finally finding the words to defend Syaoran without giving herself away. "She said he's actually very nice when you get to know him."_

_"I remember Nakuru-neechan saying so," Tomoyo added by way of support to Sakura's lie. "She said he and Kero-kun practically hiss at one another when they're in the same room, but Yue-san holds him in very high stead."_

_Sakura sent her sister a grateful look._

_Ayame waved off their words indifferently. "All I know is that if anyone is going to be marrying such a fine specimen of a man, it better be me, and I won't be opposed to stepping over each and every one of you to get him."_

* * *

_Present_

"Are you nervous, Sakura-chan?" Nakuru asked, shaking Sakura away from her memory. It seemed a bad omen, and a skittish Sakura wondered whether Ayame would go beyond the grave to keep Syaoran in her clutches.

"Of course not," Sakura replied to Nakuru's question, smoothing out imagined creases in the fabric to distract herself. "Why on earth would I be nervous? It's an arranged marriage after all."

"I was nervous as anything when I married your brother," Nakuru replied surely. "I was worried some spurned lover might jump out and ruin the whole thing. Or that he might run away the second he saw me – you know he had a tendency to do that during our engagement.

"Lucky for me, he saved the running away until after the marriage," she finished jokingly, "but the fact that it was an arranged marriage didn't make me any less nervous.

"Not that you'd have anything to worry about spurned lover wise," she added hastily, worried she might have put the thought in Sakura's head. "You're really the only girl I've ever seen Syaoran-kun show even the slightest interest in."

"Except for Ayame-chan," Sakura finished for her.

Nakuru frowned, glancing at Tomoyo for some sort of guidance.

"Actually, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo said as she carefully lifted a fingertip length veil onto Sakura's head, "I always thought Li-kun was at best . . . indifferent to Ayame-chan."

"Well, he must have seen something in her," Sakura countered, trying her best to ignore the bit of hope her sisters' words sparked in her.

"I think the elders chose her," Nakuru said, glancing painfully at Tomoyo once the words left her mouth. She didn't think it was true - although she had no idea why Syaoran hadn't picked Sakura the first time around - but seeing Sakura look so saddened by things, she had wanted to say something that would convince Sakura that she was number one in Syaoran's heart.

"Or something like that," she added awkwardly.

"Well I guess we'll never know," Sakura said, trying to bring a sense of finality to the conversation.

"I guess so," Tomoyo agreed, "but Sak-"

Her words, whatever they were, were cut off as the orchestra suddenly began to play.

"That's our cue," Tomoyo commented, half-disappointed that she hadn't managed to get the words out. "Let's go, Nakuru-chan."

The two swept out of the room, long skirts trailing behind them and were quickly replaced by Fujitaka.

"You remind me of your mother today, Sakura," he told his daughter proudly, holding a square box out towards her.

"Is this . . .?" Sakura asked cautiously, eyes glistening as she opened the box.

"It was your mother's," he said as he gestured for her to turn around. With great care he lay around her neck a beautiful white-gold bib necklace with multiple strands dotted with glistening white stones. "I know she would have wanted you to have it, especially today."

"Thank you, 'tou-san," she replied, her voice shaking with emotion.

"Now," he said warmly, "dry those tears, Sakura-chan, because there is a young man out there that I think is very anxious to see you right now."

She nodded, listening as the music began to change, and the two made their way towards the aisle.

* * *

_Approx. 7 months earlier_

_"Sakura, will you marry me?" he muttered quietly to himself, testing the words aloud as he had many times before. They seemed such simple words, but in combination they did such reckless things to his nervous system that he wondered if he would ever have the courage to say them to the girl herself._

_And the business with Gensou just made it more complicated. _

_He wanted to marry Sakura. He wanted to marry her from the moment he met her but thought it impolite to ask right away. He wanted to marry her more than he'd ever wanted anything before in his life, but now if he asked her, it would look like he was asking out of obligation and because it was the right thing to do politically._

_Sakura deserved more than that, and he couldn't help curse his bastard brother-in-law for his bad timing._

_What on earth was he supposed to say to her now? 'Hey, Sakura, let's get married so that I can trick my brother-in-law into calling off his dogs. Also, I love you, but that's an ancillary part of the agreement, and I'd marry you even if I didn't. And-'_

_"Boo!" a voice called, stopping him before the thoughts went further._

_"Sakura?" he asked breathless, his heart racing in a way unrelated to the scare as his eyes met a pair of perfect emerald gems._

_"Hiya," she replied, tilting her head at him sweetly. "Did I scare you, Syao-kun?"_

_"O-of course not," he lied. "I was just surprised to see you. Shouldn't you be inside?" he asked. _

_"I snuck out when I heard you were out here," Sakura replied unabashedly. "Are you unhappy to see me?" she asked, her head drooping a little at the thought._

_"Of course not, Kura-chan," he said quickly, hating the thought of seeing her unhappy. "You're wonderful," he added gently, cautiously reaching for her hand, which she happily allowed him to grasp._

_"I like it when you're sappy, even if it doesn't suit you," she said, recalling words from his last letter when he was bemoaning how she made him sappy and so unlike himself. They stayed in a comfortable silence, each enjoying being with the other until a thought occurred to Sakura and she was compelled to say it aloud. "So what are you doing here?"_

_"Are you unhappy to see me, Sakura-chan?" he teased, repeating her words._

_Sakura shrugged in response, feigning indifference. "It depends why you're here," she replied casually._

_He smirked, deciding it was okay to be honest. "I'm in the market for a bride," he told her, "although it's slightly more complicated than that. I can pick anyone I like, just as long as she's a princess of this kingdom."_

_"Hmmm," Sakura replied, thinking he was fooling around. "They've given you a pretty wide ambit. Why you could even marry Nakuru-chan, although I doubt Onii-chan would be happy._

_"I'd avoid that one if I were you," she advised. "Onii-chan already seems to dislike you, so I wouldn't recommend giving him a reason."_

_"I'll keep that in mind, although I think I'd rather have someone a little younger than me," he suggested. "Light hair maybe. Green eyes," he smirked, risking a step closer to her – he now stood far too close to be considered decent, and yet still longed to be closer._

_Sakura considered his suggestion, her face showing no reaction even though her heart was fluttering madly. "I don't think there's anyone here to match your description, Syaoran-kun," she told him, looking genuinely sympathetic, but for the teasing smirk on her own lips. "I've got the lightest hair of all my sisters, and I'd hardly describe it as light."_

_"Well then I guess the hair is negotiable," he said in a low voice, "but the eyes must be green._

_"If you see her," he told her, stepping back to an appropriate distance and letting go of her hand as he bid a temporary farewell, "let her know I'm looking for her."_

_"Anything else," Sakura replied snootily, her tone conveying an 'I am not your servant, Li Syaoran' air._

_He smiled at her expression, loving her even more once again._

_"Tell her she's wonderful."_

* * *

_Present_

The wedding was a small affair, the guests largely coming from Sakura's side. It wasn't the way he wanted to marry Sakura, but he was told that this was a necessary part of the farce – a full wedding would have looked suspicious to Gensou, and so the affair was downgraded to a more intimate event.

In truth, there wasn't the time to plan the wedding he wanted for Sakura, even if he had been able to marry her from the start. What he wanted for her was such grand splendour that even the most ostentatious would be jealous. He wanted to invite the whole world so he could proudly declare to each and every one of them that he loved Kinomoto Sakura and would for as long as he lived.

Syaoran's heart clenched as he watched various figures walk up the short aisle towards him and to their seats. With each Kinomoto sibling, he knew he was getting closer and closer to the one he longed to see.

Nakuru and Touya walked up first, Yumiko sleeping peacefully in her father's arms. Nakuru was dressed in a burgundy dress, tight around her chest, but draped loosely over her pregnant belly. The dress was off the shoulder, with sheer sleeves cinched at the wrist. Touya matched her in a deep navy blue with red accents.

Next came Tomoyo, dressed in violet. The dress was high-waisted, with a full tulle skirt. The neckline was scooped, and the sleeves tight to the elbow, with a sheer flounce down to the wrist. The other four sisters came in pairs, each in a similar dress, but a different shade. Meilin and Naoko walked together, dressed in crimson and blue respectively, while Chiharu and Rika wore yellow and peach.

Finally, the music changed, and there was his bride standing at the end of the aisle with her father looking as lovely as ever. She was in a strapless sweetheart bodice, with a three-quarter sleeved bolero to cover her shoulders. The skirt had an apron layer anchored at the hip, opening to a tiered tulle skirt. Dressed all in white, she looked positively angelic. Syaoran couldn't help but lose himself in her smile.

He remembered someone telling him once that a woman would never look as lovely as she did on her wedding day, but knew this was a lie. Sakura looked as lovely as she did the first day he saw her, and the first day he held her hand, and the day he – obliquely – told her he wanted to marry her. Anyone who held otherwise had simply been oblivious to her loveliness and would be best not to say so to Syaoran.

He caught the nervousness in her glance and sent what he hoped was an encouraging look as Fujitaka placed her hand in his. Together they stepped onto the slightly raised alter to face the priest that would perform the union. Despite her nerves, there was no hesitation in her step and a look of almost fierce determination was etched beautifully across her features.

"Whatever is to come, Sakura," he told her quietly as the priest spoke over them to those gathered, "we'll face it together, as husband and wife. I don't want you ever to think this is a marriage in name only."

She glanced at him, turning her head ever so slightly to face him and her eyes widening in surprise.

"I just thought you should know," he said by way of explanation, his lips hardly moving ad his body still facing forward. There was no indication that he had spoken at all and Sakura almost believed she had imagined his genuine words.

_'Perhaps it won't be so bad,'_ she thought to herself, _'even if he never feels the same.'_

"Do you, Li Syaoran, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?" the priest asked, breaking Sakura of her train of thought.

"I do," Syaoran replied surely, inclining his body towards her and exerting some pressure on their joined hands. It was a secret message between the two of them, only Sakura had no idea how to decode the message as it went against everything she thought she knew about their relationship.

"Do you, Kinomoto Sakura, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?" the priest asked, turning his attention on Sakura.

"I do," she said quietly, returning Syaoran's gesture.

Silently, a pair of rings were exchanged and the delicate silver tiara she wore was replaced with the golden head piece of her new kingdom. From that moment she was no longer Princess Sakura of Kita, but Queen Sakura of Minami, consort of King Li Syaoran. When they returned to her husband's lands, an official crowning would take place and she would be expected to address her subjects as their new queen.

As the priest made his pronouncement, Syaoran leaned forward and chastely caught her lips in a much longed for kiss. The action caught her by surprise and was over before she could properly enjoy it.

"You are wonderful, Li Sakura," he told her quietly, his expression warm with pride. Sakura could have sworn she even saw tears glistening in the corners of his eyes – glistening as her own glistened with tears of happiness – but chalked it up to a glare of light.

Smiling, Syaoran swooped forward once again, ignoring the part of his brain that warned against Touya related repercussions of such actions. Catching his intention, Sakura responded this time, enjoying the feather light movements of his lips against her own and the sense of completeness that accompanied it.

With a warm gaze at Syaoran, she decided that just or today she could enjoy herself. Just for today she could pretend this was the happiest day of her life and all her prayers had been answered. Just for today she could forget about Gensou, and Ayame, and promises broken and abided.

And just for today . . . she could pretend he loved her too.

~ to be continued ~

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**Next chapter: Sakura and Syaoran make their way back to Minami.**

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Note:**

Hmmm . . . the Nakuru, Tomoyo and Sakura scene was originally supposed to feature Touya, so that came out completely different than I expected. For ease, I went with your basic Western style wedding seeing as it's more familiar to me. If you want a clearer idea of what Sakura's dress looked like, I kinda based it off one the dresses on http:/ romantic-weddingzone. blogspot. com /2009 /11 /yellow-gown-for-romantic-wedding. html - the third one down with the caption 'interesting gawn'


	8. Journey Home

Good to see so many people still reading. So everyone knows, I'll only be updating once a week so look out for it every Sunday/Monday depending on your time zone...

* * *

Administrative stuff

Summary: Li Syaoran must return to Kinomoto Kingdom with the remains of his fiancée after her tragic demise. But a marriage is still required to unite the two families, and now Syaoran has his pick of the six remaining daughters of Kinomoto Fujitaka for the sake of both their kingdoms. Romance/Mystery

Ages:  
Kinomoto Touya: 27yrs  
Li Syaoran: 22 yrs (almost 23)  
Kinomoto Sakura: 21 yrs  
Kinomoto Tomoyo: 20 yrs  
Kinomoto Ayame: 18 yrs (dec)  
Kinomoto Meilin: 18 yrs  
Kinomoto Chiharu: 17 yrs  
Kinomoto Naoko: 16 yrs  
Kinomoto Rika: 15 yrs

Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura.

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It's Only Love – The Journey Home

"Sakura, please come here," Syaoran asked pleasantly, gazing at his wife seated as far away from him as possible within the small confines of the carriage.

Sakura scoffed pointedly and scooted further into her corner (if that was possible) drawing in her limbs so that she took up only a fraction of the space she should have. "You're not my father," she replied childishly when Syaoran questioned her actions with just a cock of his eyebrow. "You can't tell me what to do."

"No, Sakura," he replied plainly, holding back his frustration, "I am your husband, which is why I said 'please' and why I _asked_ you to please come sit beside me."

She let out a petulant "hmmmph" in response and crossed her arms tightly over her chest. Syaoran rolled his eyes, checking she wasn't watching before he attempted such an action – as much as he loved her temper, he really didn't want to be the target of it when she was in this sort of mood.

He sighed, sliding across the seat so that he was sitting right beside her. It seemed he would have to be the one to yield if he wanted to get anywhere with Sakura. He considered this his way of atoning his great sin – his penance for letting Ayame fool him. He had denied himself happiness for Sakura's sake only to discover that almost everything Ayame had told him was a lie and that Ayame only ever cared about her own well-being.

He found it difficult at times to feel sympathetic towards someone who had caused the person dearest to him such pain, whether it be deliberate or merely reckless. He would spend the rest of is his life ensuring that Sakura never felt that way again.

Sakura stiffened as his knee brush against her own, and Syaoran tried not to be too disheartened. Instead he pressed on, unwinding her tightly crossed arms so he could take her tiny hands in his larger ones. Although she refused to approach him, she did not resist his actions and eventually relaxed into the familiar touch.

"Sakura, how well did you know Ayame-san?" he asked cautiously, hoping that revealing this secret would put things to rest and convince Sakura of where his heart really lay. For a moment Syaoran wondered if perhaps it was too soon to speak of her – she had hardly been gone a fortnight – but knew the sooner that it was out in the open, the sooner they could get past it and start their lives together properly.

Sakura looked at him curiously, hurt flashing in her eyes momentarily as she wondered whether Ayame would ever leave his thoughts completely. "We were sisters, so I knew her well enough," Sakura responded vaguely, a clipped tone to her words. "I knew her as well as she knew me."

"And yet she didn't know that I was pursuing you?" he questioned, although it was really more a statement than a question.

"No," she said, feeling no shame in the admission. "Only Tomoyo knew, and that is because we tell each other everything no matter how trivial.

"I say it hardly matters," she added breezily, forcing her tone to remain nonchalant even though she found herself fighting back emotion. "A few letters and a couple of face-to-face encounters hardly amounts to_ serious_ courting," she finished sarcastically, rolling her eyes derisively.

Syaoran couldn't contain his frustration at her casual description of their short-lived relationship. "Not serious?" he exclaimed painfully. "Sakura, I was planning to ask for your hand in April. If Gensou hadn't interfered, I would have been marrying your properly a year from now in front of _both_ our families and friends and acquaintances and anyone else I could think of. I would –"

"Then I think you can consider yourself lucky," Sakura cut in coolly, turning her face away from him. "Perhaps you should thank him for saving you all that time and effort."

Syaoran almost growled aloud, biting back a sharp retort. _'I shouldn't be thanking him,'_ he said internally. _'I should be strangling the conniving bastard for causing you to believe I don't love you.'_

He sighed, forcing himself to move along. "All I was trying to say, Sakura, is that you were keeping something pretty big from your sister," he explained calmly, silently congratulating himself on keeping his cool in such extreme circumstances. "Maybe there were some things she was keeping from you as well."

Sakura ruffled defensively, snatching her hands from his grasp. "How dare you, Li Syaoran!" she exclaimed, glaring dangerously at her new husband. "How dare you try to sully my sister's name when she can't even defend herself.

"I don't know what you're implying, Li," she said coolly, the point she tried to make by referring to him by his last name losing some of its panache now that she shared the name, "but my sister was a good and pure person, and I will not take you saying otherwise."

Syaoran sighed aloud, retreating to his own side of the carriage. Sakura bit back a whimper, missing his closeness but refusing to step down from her high horse. She wondered briefly whether Ayame was worth losing Syaoran's touch and as guilty as she felt to say so, the answer was an uncontested no.

"At least I tried," she heard him murmur to himself, her heart aching as she caught the words. She hoped he was talking about whatever he wanted to tell her about Ayame and not about her generally. As much as she hated him for hurting her, she hated the thought of losing him even more.

"You should sleep," he said, louder now, staring out into the ink black sky. "It's a long ride to the Li castle, and we're going to try and finish it in one night."

She nodded, but didn't close her eyes, fidgeting anxiously in her seat. "Um . . . Syaoran . . . I . . ."

He sighed, opening his arms up to her in a heart-warming gesture that was so trusting and honest it almost brought tears to her eyes. "I forgot how much you disliked the dark," he smiled, his expression softening as he took in her vulnerability. "I'm sorry for reminding you of it, darling.

"Come here," he insisted, "I'll make sure nothing bad happens to you, Sakura-chan."

She only hesitated for a moment before nestling her head upon his chest and curling up to his side. "Thank you, Syao-kun," she said quietly, her voice becoming heavy as sleep took over.

"Think nothing of it, cherry blossom," he told her sweetly, knowing she wouldn't be consciously aware of anything after this point. He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead as his arms wrapped around her and slowly traced relaxing patterns into her back. "I'll always be here if you need me, Sakura," he promised the sleeping figure. "Aishiteru."

And even though he knew she had only come to him under extreme circumstances, Syaoran couldn't help but feel as though he was making progress, no matter how small.

* * *

Sakura found herself waking blurrily to the low murmur of voices. She had been flitting in and out of consciousness for the better part of their journey, waking each time to find herself safely encased in Syaoran's arms, the one place in the world where she knew no harm could find her.

"Ohayo, baby sister!" came a loud cry un-fogging her mind as she desperately wished she could find her way back to the land of dreams.

Slowly cracking her eyes open a slither, she heard Syaoran admonish the perpetrator of the cry. "Hush, Feimei, I don't want you waking her," he told what Sakura concluded was probably one of his sisters. "She didn't sleep well on the journey here, and its only an hour ago that she fell into a restful sleep."

Sakura's eyes snapped shut at that proclamation, although she didn't know why. She should have just told him he was wasting his breath and have him direct her to her bedroom. She should have admonished him for being so harsh on Feimei and introduced herself to his sister with an affable smile and a quick curtsey. There were a lot of things she should have done, but instead she chose to feign sleep and just remain in Syaoran's arms a little longer.

"I'm sorry, brother," Feimei replied in a tone that hardly spoke of repentance. "No need to be so grouchy.

"Oh she's so kawaii," she sighed a moment later, glee evident in her voice. "I can't wait 'til we get to meet her properly. Okaa-san is going to love her."

"I hope so," Syaoran sighed, adjusting the weight in his arms slightly. "Did mother say when she'd be back?"

"By the end of the week," she answered after a brief pause, probably as she nodded her head to Syaoran's question. "She's going to spend a few days with Kaho-heika and Eriol-kun before she returns."

Sakura could feel a low murmur of disapproval reverberate in his chest at the mention of Eriol. Feimei chuckled, most likely at his expression, which Sakura could practically picture in her mind. "Don't frown, otouto-chan," she cautioned, "you'll scare off that pretty little wife of yours, and I know how much you'd hate to be without her.

"You just need to leave Eriol to his own devices," she added wisely. "I'm sure he knows what he's doing. You, Syaoran, need to stop trying to protect everyone, no matter how dear to you."

This time the murmur erupted as a growl and Sakura had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. She knew how much Syaoran hated people thinking that he actually _liked_ Eriol, Syaoran's rather controversial choice of best friend. The two had grown up like brother's, almost to spite their family – Eriol was Syaoran's grandfather's illegitimate son and by virtue of this, Syaoran's half-uncle. Each having only a weak claim to the throne (Syaoran's weak because his grandfather, Li Ryuu, had no other sons besides Eriol, and Eriol's weak because of the status of his birth), the expectation was that the two would be at one another's throats from the moment they met.

"Anyone can see it will end badly," he argued, evading Feimei's insinuation. "It will-"

Sakura moaned loudly, curling into his chest to distract Syaoran from finishing the thought. She sensed where his words were going, and so she cut him off rather than let him finish the sentence and have her suspicions confirmed. She considered wilful blindness her best option, and didn't want to have Syaoran unwittingly describe the most likely consequences of her sister's attempted romance. She felt safer not knowing; this she knew for sure.

"I guess I better put you to bed, sleeping beauty," he said gently, remembering the pleasant weight in his arms. "Did you set up one of the guest rooms?" he asked his sister, pulling Sakura's lithe form closer to him.

There was a brief pause for Feimei's confirmation or dissent before Syaoran responded indignantly. "Why not?" he insisted. "Have one of the servants prepare it immediately, and make sure her things are prepared for the morning."

Sakura heard Feimei laugh at her brother's sudden aggressiveness. "I'm not sure it's a good idea, otouto-chan," she told him almost patronizingly. "I mean, what would people think if they knew Li-heika and his wife slept in separate beds?"

Syaoran groaned at her words, probably aware that she made a good point. The formal side of their marriage was complete, but there was still the matter of convincing Gensou that they'd fallen in love and married with no regard to his plans to wage war. She wasn't sure how fastidious Gensou would be in his enquiries, but if word somehow got out that the newlyweds had separate rooms, the whole pretence would fail.

"I don't want to place her in such an . . . intimate situation without her consent," Syaoran argued pathetically. "It would be disrespectful. Sakura should get a say in things before we go and decide without her that she should share my bed."

Feimei sighed. "Unless you're willing to wake her up, which I know you are not, I don't see us having any other option," she responded in a final sort of way. "You told me yourself she was an intelligent and understanding woman, and so I'm sure she'll understand that you had good reasons."

Sakura blushed at the compliment, hoping no one would notice that an apparently sleeping figure had just turned a brilliant shade of red.

"Fine," he sighed, beginning to move. "Can I trust you to put her in some bed clothes?"

"Of course, brother," Feimei answered eagerly. "I already had the things you sent over unpacked in your room, so it shall be no problem at all."

"Thank you, Feimei," he said tiredly, jostling Sakura only minimally as he climbed the steps to the second floor.

Feimei just smiled, watching her brother carefully bring his wife up to his bedroom. She'd never seen him be so careful or gentle with anyone before that moment. It was like seeing a whole other Syaoran, a Syaoran whose life had been touched in the most profound way.

Love was truly a beautiful thing.

~ to be continued ~

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**Next chapter: Sakura's first day with her new husband in her new kingdom.**

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**Note:**

In my mind it takes about two and a half days to get from the Kinomoto castle to Li castle, thus, I imagine there was probably a stop or two along the way and this was just the final leg of the journey. Thus, Sakura and Syaoran have been married now for about four or five days for anyone who keeps track of that sort of thing.

Eriol as Syaoran's illegitimate half-uncle: cos cousins are so last year and this is the only way to maintain any 'cute little descendent' comments. Because Eriol is Yelan's half-brother, that makes Syaoran his descendent even though the two are pretty much the same age. This relationship will bear some significance later, especially if I decide to do a spin-off story (titled Only, Is It Love?) focussing on the Eriol-Tomoyo-Mizuki love triangle.


	9. Day One

Another new chapter. Seeing as the tangentially relevant love triangle has been fully hinted at - and perhaps more so in the next chapter - I'd like some thoughts on whether anyone would be interested in reading the possible side story of those three. Let me know.

* * *

Administrative stuff

Summary: Li Syaoran must return to Kinomoto Kingdom with the remains of his fiancée after her tragic demise. But a marriage is still required to unite the two families, and now Syaoran has his pick of the six remaining daughters of Kinomoto Fujitaka for the sake of both their kingdoms. Romance/Mystery

Ages:  
Kinomoto Touya: 27yrs  
Li Syaoran: 22 yrs (almost 23)  
Kinomoto Sakura: 21 yrs  
Kinomoto Tomoyo: 20 yrs  
Kinomoto Ayame: 18 yrs (dec)  
Kinomoto Meilin: 18 yrs  
Kinomoto Chiharu: 17 yrs  
Kinomoto Naoko: 16 yrs  
Kinomoto Rika: 15 yrs

Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura.

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It's Only Love – Day One

Sakura woke to unfamiliar settings, her mind taking a moment to remember where she was and why there was a distinct weight across her waist. She could hear her husband's light snores behind her and his breath tickling her neck in a not entirely uncomfortable way.

He shifted slightly, drawing her body closer to his own. She sighed and rolled her eyes at his sorry attempt.

"I'm not stupid, Syaoran," she told him coolly. "I know you're awake."

"I'm trying not to be," he replied, grasping her closer and taking her lack of resistance as consent. He snuggled into her, his nose nuzzling her throat and causing a delightful tremor to spark through her body. "I just want to cuddle up to you and sleep all day."

She laughed at the petulant tone, forgetting for a moment the six months that hung between them like a gaping abyss. "You're being sappy again, Syao-kun," she teased him, turning in his arms so that they were face to face. Her heart warmed at the sight of his sleepy amber eyes and chestnut hair looking even more dishevelled than usual. Her hand rose, almost on its own accord, to try and give his messy locks some semblance of order, and he responded by inclining his head to her touch.

"Only for you, Kura-chan," he assured her, pressing a kiss to her open palm.

They lapsed into silence, although it was neither awkward nor uncomfortable. Instead the moment felt warm and content, and Sakura could think of no place she would rather be than in Syaoran's arms, waking up as man and wife.

But moments do not last, and a brief knock the door caused them to separate.

"Come in," Syaoran called as he released his grip on Sakura, sitting up proudly.

Wei entered followed by several servants carrying various trays and wares. "Good morning, Syaoran-sama, Li-sama," he said, bowing to each of them in turn.

"'Sakura' is fine, Wei-san," she responded, smiling broadly at the head of Syaoran's house staff.

"Of course, Sakura-sama," he replied, returning her grin. "We've brought you both breakfast. Syaoran-sama mentioned you had a penchant for sweet things," he said as a plate of pancakes and fruit was laid before her along with a steaming cup of sweet tea.

"Thank you, Wei-san," Syaoran said appreciatively, his mouth watering at the sight of chocolate drizzled pancakes on his own plate. "You shouldn't have."

"Think nothing of it," Wei replied. "Consider this our welcome gift to the new mistress.

"It shall be a pleasure serving you, Sakura-sama," he added with one final bow before funnelling the collection of servants out the door so the master and mistress could eat in peace.

"It's been so long since I've had breakfast in bed," Sakura said happily, eyes closing in joy as she bit into a ripe, red strawberry, relishing the sweet taste. "I must thank Wei-san again later."

"Wei never brings me breakfast in bed," Syaoran jokingly pouted. "I knew he liked you more than me."

Sakura laughed and jostled her shoulder against his. "It's probably just because you're not usually in bed so late," she replied. "Don't you usually have your training at dawn, or was that just some line to impress me?"

"Were you impressed?" he asked in a low husky tone that made Sakura's cheeks turn bright red at the insinuation.

"Not particularly," she shrugged indifferently.

He shook his head, smiling at her teasing. Sakura brought out the best in people, and it seemed even Wei wasn't immune to her charm.

"He definitely likes you more than me," Syaoran concluded, tasting his own sweet breakfast. "He never makes me pancakes either."

"That's because if he did you'd get all squishy," she joked, prodding her finger into his side.

"You have an excuse for everything, don't you?" he teased, turning his head to meet Sakura's frozen expression. He frowned uncertainly as she gave him an almost frightened look.

"Sakura, what's wrong?" he asked, trying to pull her close, but Sakura just stiffened and pulled away.

"You're not wearing a shirt," she told him in a scared whisper. "Why aren't you wearing a shirt?"

For Sakura's sake, Syaoran withheld his laughter at her sweet innocence. "This is how I sleep, Sakura," he told her, pulling her close against her will so that his naked chest came in contact with her bare arms. "Are you telling me it took you this long to realize?"

She nodded sheepishly, her hand brushing accidentally across his stomach muscles as she tried to shift herself out of his embrace. She turned a brilliant hue of red, her eyes turning discretely to where her hand had just passed for a brief examination. Although she had little experience with the opposite sex, she knew that it would be an apt description to call him beautiful. She remembered Ayame's description of him as a sculpture made of perfect, unblemished planes.

"That still doesn't explain why you're not wearing a shirt," she argued, trying to regain some of her footing, but failing when her voice cracked in the middle. "Shouldn't you have a sleeping shirt or something? You had a shirt in Kita."

"We're further south than you're used to," Syaoran explained. "It's too hot for that. Don't you remember when you stayed at Yue's? You had to buy several new dresses to accommodate."

"That sounds vaguely familiar," Sakura replied, still trying to escape from Syaoran's embrace. As much as she was enjoying being in his arms, an irrational part of her brain kept telling her it was mighty improper to be so close to her husband when he was only partly dressed.

"You know, you're not wearing much yourself," he added huskily, entwining his hand with hers before releasing her from his hold. He smiled at the scandalized look she gave him, before continuing with his meal, one-handed, as though it was nothing at all.

"My sister, Feimei, would like to take you to the market today if you don't have any plans," he said, not looking up from his plate, but on the same note, not letting go of her. "She can help you get some lighter clothing so you won't be uncomfortable, and introduce you to some of the people around the village."

"No, it's fine," Sakura assured him. "I can just adjust my old clothes. I don't want to be a bother."

"You're never a bother, Sakura," he answered surely, bringing her hand to his lips and making Sakura blush despite herself. "And my sister would love the opportunity to turn you into her own living doll."

He could see her resistance weakening as he assured her she was anything but a burden. He gave one last push to get her over the edge. "If anything you'd be doing me a favour in keeping Feimei out of my hair for a couple of hours," he finished flippantly, smiling secretly to himself.

"You won't be coming?" she asked looking disheartened at his accidental admission.

He smiled softly at her expression, drawing a little closer to her. "I wish I could, little blossom, but I have to arrange things for mother's return."

She nodded, accepting his response as Syaoran suddenly frowned to himself. "I'm not sure I like the idea of you spending time alone with my sister," he added looking cagey. "Who knows what you might end up telling each other."

This was enough to lighten Sakura's mood, and she laughed cheerfully as she thought of what secrets Feimei might disclose. "Ooh, Syao-kun, could you get Feimei-neesan now?" she asked him, her emerald eyes bright with childlike excitement. "I want to go as soon as possible so we can start discussing new ways to torture Syaoran-kun," she told him gleefully, her words light with laughter.

He nodded, putting his finished tray to the side so he could get up, and throwing on a loose shirt. "I know I should say no, but it's hard to deny you anything when you're looking so happy," he told her grudgingly, leaving a delighted Sakura to quickly finish her meal and ready herself for their little excursion.

Feimei was even more excited than Sakura – if that was even possible – rambling about how lovely her new imouto-chan was and how jealous Xiefa, Fuutie, and Fanren were going to be when they found out she'd gotten to spend the whole day with Syaoran's bride before they even knew he was married. She bet even mother would be jealous.

He smiled for a moment before his thoughts darkened as they turned to his other responsibilities. Sakura was the one thing in his life that could never be considered a burden, and he would proudly assume the task of making Sakura smile for the rest of their lives.

But Sakura wasn't the only female in his life, and right now _she_ needed his attention more than Sakura did. And as much as _she_ was a burden, _she_ was also a blessing.

He knew it would take more than a few smiles to fix what Ayame had broken, but maybe, just maybe, _she_ would be the key.

* * *

_One month earlier_

_"You're only doing this punish me," Ayame screamed, pulling him back as he tried to walk away from her. "You're punishing me just because she doesn't love you, and I was the one to tell you the truth."_

_"I'm doing this for your own good," Syaoran told her emotionlessly, not rising to the bait. "You're not well, Kinomoto."_

_Ayame glared, looking for something to attack him with. She knew it was futile and so went back to using her words to cut sharply into his already broken heart. "You're pathetic, Li, still hoping for a change of fortune._

_"She doesn't love you," she told him cruelly. "She'll never love you._

_"I wonder how much that hurts?" she asked, taping her index finger thoughtfully on her chin. "Knowing that the love of your life would rather be another man's mistress than your wife."_

_Her words hit their target, but he did not react with the anger she hoped to instil. Instead, his whole being simply slumped sadly. "It kills me," he admitted. "Does that make you happy, Kinomoto, knowing there is someone out there more miserable than you?_

_"But I know my misery has a purpose," he told her more confidently, a ghost of a smile on his lips. "Because of my sacrifice, Sakura can be with the one she loves, even if it is only in a small way. For that I will never be as wretched as you."_

_She froze for an instance, losing her footing as he repelled her words, but recovered quickly with another easy smile as she enacted her fatal blow. "Even knowing that the one she loves is your cousin, Li Ryuu?" she asked. She noted the way his features widened with shock. "Not so easy to be happy for her now he has a name," she laughed. "He married for every reason but love, and now Sakura must bear the burden."_

_Syaoran shook his head, recognizing the words she spoke. They were not hers. They belonged to someone who felt them deeply and who said them as more than just a line. She didn't even realize that she was digging her own grave._

_"You have no idea who he is, do you?" Syaoran asked, almost laughing at his own ignorance. "'Li Ryuu', as you so call him, is the prince consort of Mizuki-heika, and any mistress of his would be killed before she could give herself the title._

_"Everything you ever told me was a lie," he sighed. "It was never about Sakura, just about you and securing what you wanted, and I was simply a means to an end. There never was a secret lover, was there?"_

_"There is," Ayame insisted quickly, knowing she had been caught in her own lies, but unwilling to give up the game. "I've seen her pawing over his letters like they were works of art. She presses peonies for the letters she sends in return. And Meilin-chan even said . . ."_

_Syaoran heard no more and left her to her lies, futile as they were. It was too late for Syaoran to change things, so there was no point trying to convince him of Sakura's secret love. He would do his duty by her no matter what._

_In the end all she did was convince him of his own foolishness. He had been so quick to believe her lies, convinced of their truth because he already _knew_ for certain that someone as wonderful as Sakura was beyond his reach. He should have known that Sakura was above the pretence of others and that the affection she had shown him was not mere kindness._

_"O, I am fortune's fool," he muttered ironically as he shut himself in his room, opening a draw filled with carefully crafted letters and pressed peonies. As tears filled his eyes, he thought again of his purported sacrifice and everything he had done in the hopes of sheltering her from the very pain that he had caused her._

_"Sakura," he prayed, his voice hoarse with emotion, "forgive me."_

~ to be continued ~

I think by now, some of you must be thinking closer to what actually happened. For now, hopefully you can see that Ayame pretty much tricked Syaoran into the engagement, using his good nature and willingness to do almost anything for Sakura against him.

Well, let me know what you think.

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**Next chapter: Sakura spends the time with Syaoran's youngest sister and learns something of interest about her new husband.**

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**Note:**

"For that I will never be as _wretched_ as you": I know I'm kinda tooting my own horn when I say this, but I just wanted to point out the beautiful play on words here. The word 'wretched' has several meanings, all of which apply here. The main one is unhappy/unfortunate given the context of the line but it can also mean despicable/loathsome or sick. The pun, I suppose, here is playing with unhappy and loathsome as Ayame is 'wretched' in both senses. I spent a bit of time on the phrase getting the ambiguities just right, thus I wanted to draw it to people's attention so that the double meaning I spent so long on wasn't lost.

Li Ryuu: You all know who Mizuki-heika's consort (husband) is, right? If you know that, then you know exactly why Syaoran realizes that Ayame is lying when she tells Syaoran that Sakura is Ryuu's mistress. It will definitely be clearer later.  
As an extra hint, the first Li son is named after his father by tradition (and so you get a _long_ line of Ryuus if it remains unbroken), but this particular child was renamed later because the name was deemed unfit, or rather, he was deemed unfit for the name.

"O, I am fortune's fool": This line is from Romeo and Juliet. Romeo says it just after he kills Tybalt and realizes that he's damned himself. You'll find out later why it's ironic, but for now it's appropriate given the 'star-cross'd' theme of this piece.


	10. Sisters

I know some people are a bit disappointed in Sakura becoming less fiery. Her anger in the early chapters were really fueled by sadness, so now she's happier, she's not going to be lashing out in the same way. I think she gets a touch bi-polar from now on - torn between accepting what seems like love from Syaoran, and what she thinks she knows about their relationship.

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Administrative stuff

Summary: Li Syaoran must return to Kinomoto Kingdom with the remains of his fiancée after her tragic demise. But a marriage is still required to unite the two families, and now Syaoran has his pick of the six remaining daughters of Kinomoto Fujitaka for the sake of both their kingdoms. Romance/Mystery

Ages:  
Li Syaoran: 22 yrs (almost 23)  
Kinomoto Sakura: 21 yrs  
Kinomoto Tomoyo: 20 yrs  
Kinomoto Ayame: 18 yrs (dec)

Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura.

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It's Only Love – Sisters

Feimei led Sakura through the marketplace, smiling as Sakura's eyes lit up with joy at the slightest thing. She kept a mental list of the things that Sakura seemed to enjoy most, making plans to share it with her brother later – she was sure that Syaoran would be pleased to have more reasons to see his pretty new wife smile.

"Oh, Sakura-chan, you're so kawaii!" Feimei cried suddenly, seemingly at random.

Sakura blinked awkwardly, a blush streaking across her face as the marketplace appeared to stop at Feimei's outburst. Sakura wasn't really all that surprised at the outburst – Syaoran had described his sister's as being a frightening mixture of Nakuru and Tomoyo – but she hated the various eyes that suddenly turned on her and scrutinized her presence.

"Arigatou, Feimei-neesan," she said quietly, trying not to draw further attention with her response. The crowd soon turned back to their original activities once it was clear that the two weren't doing anything interesting, and Feimei's loud outburst was instantly forgotten.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan," Feimei replied, noting Sakura's demeanour. "I didn't realize you were so shy. The way that little brother spoke about you . . ."

"It's not that I'm shy," Sakura said waving off the apology, "I'm just not sure that people are supposed to know about me yet," she answered cautiously. "I mean, your mother doesn't even know yet."

"Okaa-san knows," Feimei replied simply.

"But she . . ." Sakura began in confusion before her brain suddenly latched onto an earlier part of the sentence. "Syaoran talked about me?" she asked shyly, her eyes shining hopefully.

"Of course," Feimei answered chirpily. "It was always 'Sakura-chan is so nice' and 'Sakura-chan is so witty' and 'Sakura-chan has a smile so bright that it lights up the darkest night and makes the stars, the moon, the sun and every other source of illumination dim with envy'."

"He didn't say that," Sakura protested, her cheeks burning so brightly that she was practically luminescent.

"Indeed he did," Feimei said with the utmost certainty. "He talked about you so much that I felt I knew everything there was to know about you by the time you arrived.

"I've never seen him happier than when he was talking about you, Sakura-chan," she finished with a sigh of content.

"What about with Ayame?" Sakura questioned. The sensible part of her brain would not let her forget about Syaoran's former fiancée. "I'm sure that they were very happy together."

Feimei scoffed, her features hardening for a moment. "Hardly," she muttered. "She made his life a veritable hell.

"Oh," she gasped a moment later, remembering whom she was talking with. "I'm so sorry, Sakura-chan. I can't believe I forgot that Ayame-san was your sister. She was just so awful to him sometimes.

"He was so cool from the moment they arrived and the only time I ever saw him show emotion was when Ayame-san deliberately tried to get a rise out of him," Feimei continued sadly, feeling the need to somewhat excuse Ayame's behaviour in front of Sakura. "I know it wasn't her fault – even I was getting frustrated with his indifference and inaccessibility – but she always knew exactly where to strike and how to get a response, even if it wasn't a positive one."

"You make it sound like they were enemies or something," Sakura said, forcing a laugh into her voice. "He must have seen something in her in order to ask her to marry him."

Feimei frowned, wrapping a comforting arm around Sakura's shoulder. "I'm not sure Syaoran would want me to tell you this," she said gently, "but I think it's something you need to know.

"Syaoran never wanted to marry Ayame-san," she said very seriously, holding Sakura at arms distance and looking her hard in the eye. "The reason he 'choose' Ayame-san was because she told him that you were already in love with someone and he didn't want to take you away from your most important person."

Sakura released a sharp intake of breath as she absorbed Feimei's words. She looked so serious about it that Sakura had no doubt as to their truth. Ayame had said that she would do anything to secure Syaoran, and Sakura knew that what Feimei described was in no way beyond her younger sister.

"W-why would she do that?" Sakura asked, tears choking up her voice.

"That I can't tell you," Feimei said sadly, shrugging her shoulders hopelessly as she let Sakura go. Her mood flipped a moment later and she began dragging Sakura through the market place once again. "Come, Sakura-chan, I have to introduce you to more people."

She dragged her new sister-in-law with her to a nearby cottage belonging to her semi-official seamstress, Daidouji Sinomi, an older woman with short red-hair. The woman greeted Feimei fondly before turning to Sakura with an inquisitive gaze. "And who is this?" she asked, her tone regal and slightly suspicious.

Feimei grinned wildly. "It's a secret, so I'm only telling you on the condition that it stays between you and me," she said, giving Sinomi a stern look. "This is Syaoran's wife!" she said in a loud whisper.

Sinomi gave Feimei a sceptical look before giving Sakura a second examination. She shook her head in mild irritation. "Trust Syaoran-heika to throw away twenty-three years of sensibility to go marry a peasant," she said disappointedly before adding in a none too complimentary way, "albeit a very pretty one."

She grabbed Sakura's chin and held it between her thumb and fore finger as she gave a closer inspection of Sakura's face. "You have very pretty eyes, Li-hidenka," she said, choosing the subordinate title of consort rather than queen. "And your bone structure is almost regal. You could probably pass for a noblewoman if need be," she said, forcing Sakura's head side on so she could see her in profile.

Sakura looked shocked at Sinomi's actions while Feimei stood next to her barely containing her laughter. "Sinomi-kun is a very close friend of the family," Feimei explained in a strained way. "I think she was hoping that Syaoran would marry her daughter.

"This is Sakura-hieka," she introduced, subtly correcting Sinomi's address. "She is Fujitaka-heika's eldest daughter."

"That awful man," Sinomi muttered darkly at the name before freezing in her action. "Oh my," she said, staring at Sakura with fresh eyes, her features now filled with warmth rather than distant cool. "You're Nadeshiko's daughter," she said softly, her hold on Sakura suddenly becoming gentle.

"Oh I see it now," she said, her eyes becoming moist with tears. "You have _your mother's eyes_, Sakura-heika," she said happily. "And you have her nose and cheekbones. You look almost exactly like her. So lovely.

"It's really a shame that you got your father's hair - awful man that he is - but I suppose concessions must be made," she added flippantly. "You're positively exquisite, Sakura-heika!"

"Thank you, Daidouji-san," Sakura said bashfully, still feeling uncertain about this woman and her oddly changing moods.

"You're welcome, Sakura-heika," Sinomi answered, her eyes almost sparkling in a way that reminded Sakura quite oddly of her sister Tomoyo.

"You know I was a friend of your mother's until she married that awful man," Sinomi continued, switching from bright and happy to dark and grumbly at the unfortunate mention of 'that awful man'. "Nadeshiko and I were the best of friend."

"Oh," Sakura offered consolingly, "why did you two stop being friends?"

Sinomi sighed, her features clouding over as she recalled a distant memory. "We got into a fight about her marriage and we both said a lot of things we didn't mean," she said sadly. "I left and came here, and your mother and I never spoke again."

"That is too bad," Sakura said gently, her tone diplomatic. "I'm sure mother was sad to lose such a friend."

"Oh, Sakura-heika," Sinomi cooed, tears practically streaming down her face, "it means so much to hear you say that." She turned to Feimei a smile gracing her usually stony features, "I can see why Syaoran-heika married her," she said cheekily. "Sakura-heika is adorable!"

Sakura laughed awkwardly, Sinomi being almost as bad as Feimei. "So I am forgiven for stealing Syaoran away from your daughter?" Sakura asked, half joking about the matter.

"Who?" Sinomi replied indifferently before waving the mention of her own daughter off with a brush of her hand. "Who am I to stand in the way of true love?" she asked dramatically, causing Sakura to blush a brilliant red once again.

"Sakura-heika, you must let me design some gowns for you," Sinomi insisted a moment later. "I bet you look kawaii in everything."

Feimei laughed at Sinomi's unusual disposition. "That's why we're here, Sinomi-kun," she answered for them. "Sakura-chan doesn't have a thing to wear. All her clothes are too heavy for our environment.

"You would think that little brother would have had the forethought to have some things prepared for her," she added admonishingly.

"Oh but he did," Sinomi smiled mysteriously. "Well just the one, really. He commissioned me to make a lovely pink dress quite some time ago but never came around to pick it up. It was clearly meant for Sakura-heika."

Sinomi disappeared out back, returning a moment later with a lovely pink dress that in many ways reminded Sakura of her wedding dress. It had the same sweetheart neckline, but with short, capped sleeves and a higher waist. The skirt was not as full, such layers being impractical in the heat of he Li kingdom. She was surprised at the difference that the distance between the two kingdoms made, although it was the height of summer so that might have contributed somewhat.

"This is beautiful," Sakura sighed happily. "It looks just like something my sister would make.

"Are you sure it will fit?" she added after. She assumed it was probably something for Ayame rather than herself. The two sisters weren't exactly the same build. Sakura was tall and athletic, as were Naoko and Rika – the three of them took more after their father in that respect, although it was always said that Sakura's facial features most resembled their mother. Ayame, much like Meilin, Tomoyo, and Chiharu, was a bit shorter and curvier than Sakura, taking their mother's build instead.

"Positive," Sinomi nodded, forcing Sakura into the backroom.

Sakura dressed quickly, and it was indeed a perfect fit. There was no way that this dress could have been intended for anyone but herself. It was irrefutable evidence that Syaoran had been thinking of her even as he engaged himself to Ayame.

And Sakura had no idea what to do with it.

* * *

_My dearest Tomoyo,_

_I am writing this letter, for my own selfishness I suppose. I miss you. I know I have brought this upon myself entirely, but I miss you, love._

_It is no small joy that writing this letter brings me. Reaching out to you in this small way is all can do to keep myself sane; to continue with this burden. Tomoyo, I -_

Tomoyo threw the letter away in disgust. She almost snarled – in complete polarity of her usual disposition – as she roughly pulled together her writing instruments. She penned a quick reply – succinct and to the point.

_You made your choice, and now you must live with it. You can't have it both ways, my lord, and I have too much self-respect to be your dirty secret._

_Do not write me again._

Satisfied with her response, Tomoyo shoved the letter into an unmarked envelope and that envelope into another marked with a southward address. She began writing a letter to Feimei asking her to ensure he complied with her request.

"Tomoyo-neechan," Rika called softly as she came into the room, "are you busy?"

"Not at all," Tomoyo replied convincingly, anger fading from her face. "I was about to reply to Feimei-chan's letter, but that can wait."

Rika smiled and sat herself on Tomoyo's bed while Tomoyo herself remained at her writing desk. "Did Li-chan say anything about onee-chan?" Rika asked hopefully.

Tomoyo nodded, smiling lightly. "She wrote as soon as Sakura-chan and Li-kun arrived. Sakura-chan was sleeping," she said with a look that conveyed a silent 'of course' to Rika who laughed in agreement, "so Feimei-chan hasn't had the chance to meet her properly yet, but she can't wait.

"She said she'd never seen Li-kun so sweet," she added, practically quoting from Feimei's letter now. "He tucked her into bed personally and glared at anyone who even thought about waking her."

They shared a laugh, awing at Sakura's ability to bring out the soft side in people, Syaoran and Touya being the most patent examples. "I think Li-kun must love Sakura-neechan very much," Rika said softly, a look of content cast across her features.

"Why do you say that, Rika-chan?" Tomoyo asked, surprised at her little sister's observance.

Rika shrugged in reply. "I suppose it's because he always gives her the most gentle looks when he gazes at her," she offered dreamily. "He looks at her as though she were something precious to him."

"Hmm," Tomoyo hummed thoughtfully. "I think you might be right," she agreed, a secret smile on her lips. "So, what did you want to talk about, Rika-chan?"

"Nothing really," Rika admitted shyly, flushing a little. "Yoshi-kun has gone to talk to father and I just wanted something to distract me while I await the verdict.

"You don't mind, do you, Tomoyo-neechan?" she added sheepishly.

Tomoyo smiled gently at her sister, squeezing her hand encouragingly. "I'm sure it will be alright," she assured her quietly. "Otou-san has always liked Tereda-sensei, and he always prized our happiness over all else. The only reason he would turn Tereda-sensei away is if he believed you would be unhappy with him."

Rika only looked mildly convinced, and Tomoyo wished she had Sakura's indefatigable surety to share with Rika right now. "Shall I tell you a secret? Will that distract?" she asked instead, as a last effort to distract Rika from her concerns. Rika nodded eagerly, all other thoughts leaving her momentarily.

"I really do think you might be right about Li-kun," she said in a low voice, imparting her secret in a mysterious fashion. "And I think Sakura-chan might love him too."

~ to be continued ~

I just love the scene with Sinomi, especially the 'awful man' comments. Sakura is slowly starting to realize the vast difference between Syaoran's feelings for herself and we are slowly building up to the stories climax. Hope you liked.

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**Next chapter: Filler/Fluff, but cute enough that I'm sure I'll be forgiven. Some significant foreshadowing.**

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**Note:**

_Hidenka: _Sinomi uses 'hidenka' rather than 'heika' as an insult, using it to imply that she has an inferior claim to rule and is at a lower level than Syaoran - she says right from the start that she thinks Syaoran has married below his position, so it's not entirely subtle.


	11. Heart in Your Hand

As I said, this one is all fluff and as such, I'm gonna do an extra update this week to make up for it. I was tempted to drop this chapter altogether because it doesn't really add anything, but I like it, so I'm leaving it.

* * *

Administrative stuff

Summary: Li Syaoran must return to Kinomoto Kingdom with the remains of his fiancée after her tragic demise. But a marriage is still required to unite the two families, and now Syaoran has his pick of the six remaining daughters of Kinomoto Fujitaka for the sake of both their kingdoms. Romance/Mystery

Ages:  
Li Syaoran: 22 yrs (almost 23)  
Kinomoto Sakura: 21 yrs  
Kinomoto Tomoyo: 20 yrs  
Kinomoto Ayame: 18 yrs (dec)

Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura.

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It's Only Love – Heart in Your Hand

_7 months earlier_

_The worst day of Sakura's life started just like any other day. She woke up, she got dressed, she had breakfast then chatted with Tomoyo before heading out to the gardens for her usual walk. This was followed by the latest item in her routine; a dash towards a hidden grove of trees where she could spend a few precious minutes speaking privately with their guest._

_The fact that Syaoran wasn't there waiting for her when she arrived should have alerted her to what was to come. She should have known then that this day would not end well for her, but at the time, it was the farthest thing from her mind._

_Her mood now dampened due to not getting her Syaoran fix, she headed back inside for some other means of occupation. Her father greeted her cheerily as she entered the room, assuming Syaoran's announcement would mean good things for Sakura. "We've been looking for you, Sakura-chan," Fujitaka told her. "You almost missed Syaoran-kun's announcement."_

_He winked at her, letting her know that he already knew. Truth was, he had no idea, and the gesture just confused Sakura as she was ushered further into a room containing only her immediate family and close officials._

_"Thank you," Syaoran said, his voice causing them all to quiet. He caught Sakura's eye, looking away immediately before she could catch the sadness and desperate longing that flashed across his features. "I have an announcement," he said awkwardly, cringing when Touya gave him a 'no duh' look. Without even looking at his face, Nakuru seemed to clue on to this and jabbed her husband none to gently in the ribs._

_Syaoran coughed uncomfortably before continuing. "I have gathered you all here to announce my engagement," he said, the crowd seeming to take a collective breath, "to Kinimoto Ayame," he finished reluctantly, eyes turned downcast._

_Ayame proudly took her place beside him, beaming at the small crowd and lapping up their congratulations and praise. As Ayame stole the attention of their well-wishers, only one person noticed Kinomoto Sakura silently leave the room. At the time he didn't understand her expression, but now it was clear._

_Because that was the moment when Kinomoto Sakura's world ended._

* * *

Present.

Sakura woke with a start, the memory causing a strangled sob to escape her lips and tears to roll from her eyes. Unwittingly, her tears managed to wake her husband, who drew her close trying his very best to comfort her, somehow knowing that he was the reason for he tears.

"Hush, Sakura," he told her gently, pulling her against his chest and rubbing circles into her back. "Don't cry, love. You know I hate to see you cry."

Despite his pleas, she cried harder, sobbing into his chest. "Why do you do that?" she asked him hopelessly. "Why are you so nice to me?"

"Cause I'm a nice person?" he joked, hoping to garner a smile out of her.

"Stop," she told him. "I don't want you saying nice things to me and being so sweet. It only confuses me. Just be whatever," she commanded. "I don't need you being nice to me."

"Sakura," he said with a slight sternness to his voice. "You're not making any sense, my love."

"And stop saying things like that," she told him, her sadness turning to anger. "It's not nice, Syaoran," she told him warningly. _'Not when I'd give anything to believe you meant it.'_

"I'm sorry, Sakura," he said genuinely, his eyes softening at he distraught expression, "I really am. But I'm not going to stop being nice to you."

She frowned and so he continued. "You're just going to have to put up me with me being selfish, Sakura-chan," he told her, smiling contentedly to himself. "I like saying nice things to you and doing things for you. I like seeing you get all flustered and blush as you try to work out how to respond.

"I like seeing that cute little crease you get in your forehead when you're confused," he smiled, tapping her gently in the spot between her brows. "And I like seeing you smile."

Her anger deflated as he smiled at her, and she found herself floating into a brief state of hayaan. He was so sweet it seemed almost wrong to deny herself his warm smiles and caresses, at least, not when he was being so sincere in his affection.

Syaoran let out a small breath of relief as she accepted his words. Every step, no matter how small, brought him closer to the place where he wanted to be.

"Now go to sleep, Sakura-chan," he told her, pressing a kiss to the crown of her head. "We've got a big day tomorrow."

"What are we doing tomorrow?" she asked before Syaoran could snuggle down into sleep.

"It's my birthday," he said simply, closing his eyes. "Don't worry. It's close family only."

"Ok," she said sadly. "So will I stay up here?"

He cracked one eye open, giving her a confused look. "Why would you stay up here?"

She turned her head down to avoid his eyes, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. "I just mean . . . well . . . you said it was only close family, and it-"

He lifted her face up to look at him, opening both eyes so she could see how serious he was. "Why would that not include you?" he asked her, not waiting for an answer. "I only say close family to exclude my sisters' husbands and anyone else I don't feel like spending time with. You do not fall into that category, Sakura-chan."

"Oh well, I-"

"Go to sleep," he cut in, his kiss moving down to her forehead this time. He purposefully shut his eyes, hoping that she would follow suit.

"Syaoran-kun?" she question sweetly, lulling him into a false sense of security. He responded with a mumbled "hmm", cracking his eyes open a slither to see her. Before he could even see it coming, she knocked her hand into his shoulder, giving him a heavy, reprimanding treatment.

"Why didn't you tell me it was your birthday?" she pouted, hitting him once again for good measure. "You know I'm not good with dates."

"I'm not going back to sleep am I?" he groaned, noting her expression as she shook her head determinedly. "What would you like to do, Sakura?" he asked, noting that they still had two hours until sunrise. "We've got plenty of time," he added, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Hentai," she muttered, slapping away his hands as they teasingly reached towards unmentionable places. "How about a card game?"

He raised an eyebrow sceptically. "Now, Sakura dear, I don't want you taking this the wrong way, but you positively suck at cards," he told her very seriously.

"I don't 'positively suck at cards'," she protested drolly, pouting at his description. "I only sucked a little.

"And I've gotten heaps better since we last played," she added brightly with a determinative nod. "I had Yukito-san teach me so we could play together."

He smiled at her proclamation, wrapping his body around hers momentarily. "And you complain about me being too sweet," he teasingly admonished, pressing a butterfly kiss to the tip of her nose.

"Alright, Sakura-chan," he said, pulling her up into a sitting position as he climbed out of the bed. He lit a few lamps, placing them close to the bed before walking into the adjoining study to grab his card things. He returned with a pack of cards and a box of matches. "You divvy those out, and I'll shuffle," he said as he sat himself cross-legged opposite her.

"Now what would you like to play?" he asked once Sakura had shared fourty-two matches equally between them and the cards had been thoroughly shuffled.

"Poker," she suggested, knowing this was Syaoran's favourite game. She had spent an almost ridiculous amount of time learning all the hands and how they ranked against each other for that very reason.

"Alright," he nodded, dealing them each five cards. "Twos are wild."

She pouted shaking her head at the rule change. "You don't need to go easy on me," she complained. "I've gotten quite good, Syaoran, so you don't need to make special rules."

"Ok," he said, holding his hands up in surrender. "No special rules."

She nodded resolutely, lifting her hand for careful examination. He almost wanted to laugh aloud at her painfully serious expression as she looked at her cards, shuffling them around and then changing her mind every few moments.

"You know, Sakura," he began slyly, barely glancing at his own hand, "seeing as you're so confident in your new found abilities, how about we make this interesting. Really put them to the test."

"What do you mean?" she asked, glancing up briefly from her hand and giving him a sweet, confused expression.

"A wager," he replied simply, a smile on his lips.

"A wager," she repeated thoughtfully, already knowing exactly what she wanted from him. "If I win you have to tell me your secret," she said, continuing when he raised an eyebrow sceptically. "I don't know what it is, Syaoran, but I know you're keeping something from me and I don't like it. You promised me this would never be marriage in name only, and a marriage requires trust between _both_ partners."

"Ok," he nodded seriously, a part of him hoping to lose. "And what do I get if I win, Sakura-chan?"

"What do you want?" she shrugged.

"A kiss," he grinned wickedly.

She rolled her eyes, not really seeing the point of his request. She was his wife, after all, and so she had certain obligations towards him, including those regarding intimacy. Thus she leaned forward to place a quick kiss on his lips. "Think of something better," she told him.

"That was hardly satisfactory, Sakura-chan, so I'm sticking with my wager," he told her. "If I win, you owe me a kiss. A _real_ kiss."

"Fine," she said, pulling two cards from her hand and placing them on the table. "I would like two cards please."

"We have to bet first, Sakura-chan," he corrected, smiling as she flushed with embarrassment. As it was just the two of them, they each put a single matchstick into the pot rather than alternating double and single blinds. "Do you stay?" he asked.

"Uh . . . yes, I stay," she replied, hoping that the term meant what she thought it meant.

"Me too," he said. "How many cards would you like?"

She scowled at him, laying two fingers pointedly over her cards. Syaoran dealt her two more cards before switching out three unfavourable cards from his own hand. He watched her eyes light as she took in her cards, clearly having got what she wanted. It was clear that Sakura would never be any good at poker – even if she did learn all the hands, and the strategy, and the relevant probabilities (the last being doubtful given her difficulties with maths generally), Sakura was just no good at bluffing. Her hand was written all over her face, and neither he nor Yukito could bear to break it to her.

He smiled gently in her direction, deciding that he would let her have this hand. "Would you like to bet, Sakura?" he asked, watching as she made a cautious bet of two matchsticks – this was the closest Sakura would ever get to bluffing. He saw her and raised her three matchsticks, and Sakura raised one more in return, which he matched, giving them a total pot of fourteen matchsticks. He hoped this would give her a sufficient head start.

Sakura proudly turned over her cards, smiling victoriously at her two pairs. Had they been playing with wilds, she would have had a full house, her hand consisting of two Jacks, two threes and a two.

"Damn," Syaoran said, dropping his hand facedown on the table, purposely letting it mingle with his discarded pile.

"What did you have?" she asked, her smile bright.

"Two kings," he replied, flipping over four of the cards in his hand, and one of those he had discarded earlier. "I was sure I'd have you beat. You really have gotten better."

She smiled at the compliment, scooping up her winnings as Syaoran discretely returned a third king to the deck. He suddenly understood why his petulant brother-in-law was so willing to subject himself to a night of charades – even losing would be worth it to see Sakura smile so gleefully at her minor victory. It was, however, not in Syaoran's nature to lose, and certainly not so easily.

They played the next hand, Syaoran watching Sakura frown at the cards, even after she had been dealt her additional cards. She had nothing, and so Syaoran played to her honest face, keeping his bets low because he knew that, like him, Sakura was too competitive to fold.

Playing to Sakura's advantage, it took ten more hands before he was up two matchsticks. When he saw she had a good hand (which sadly wasn't often because she didn't quite understand which cards she should keep and which she should swap in the hope of something better), he forced the betting up so that she won larger pots less often. When she was clearly unhappy with her hand, or when his own hand was in the upper scale of poker hands, he pulled back so that he won small pots more often. His strategy drew out the game play, and a couple of times Sakura's pile of matches had exceeded his own, particularly when she had a run of three good hands.

As he glanced at the window, he could see the light of dawn straining past the distant hills. Such light, however, was pale compared to the brightness of Sakura's smile as she arranged her cards. He glanced at his own hand – it was good, but he wondered whose was better. He bet cautiously – two matchsticks added to the eight already there from the previous round of betting. He was currently up in terms of available stake – nineteen to her thirteen – and he wondered if she was really feeling lucky.

She met his two, pausing before making a momentous decision. "All in," she said determinatively, her tone almost sultry to Syaoran's ears.

"Are you sure, Sakura-chan?" he asked, sequestering eleven matchsticks away from his own pile. She nodded, and he added his bet to the pot. "You first, Sakura," he inclined, even though it wasn't proper process.

She flipped her hand proudly, her smile brighter than ever as she displayed a seven of hearts, an eight of hearts, a nine of hearts, a ten of hearts, and a jack of spades. "Straight, jack high," she said happily, beaming at her cards.

He cringed inwardly. She was so close. So close to having this, but that one jack had prevented her from attaining a straight flush that would have won her the game. His own hand seemed pathetic in comparison as he laid out several cards and yet he knew how the probabilities worked and where he ranked relative to her. He almost grimaced as he set the cards between them: a two of diamonds, a four of diamonds, a seven of diamonds, an eight of diamonds, and a ten of diamonds.

"Flush," he responded, a hint of disappointment in his voice. "Ten high."

She gaped, watching as the stake went to Syaoran. She was so sure she had this. It was the best hand she'd ever gotten in all the times she'd played poker, and yet it wasn't enough.

"I suppose you'll be wanting to claim your wager," she said, saddened more by the fact that she had lost so abruptly than what she had to give up.

"Yes," he nodded, "but not right now." She gave him a confused look, and he grinned at her expression, kissing her lightly on the cheek as he stood up. "I have to go train," he explained, "after all, I know how much that impresses you."

She flushed as he winked at her, smiling dreamily in his wake. And despite herself, she had already forgotten all about the secret she had been so desperate for him to impart. There was only room for one thing on her mind, and it consumed her with longing and anticipation as the single thought danced through her head.

_'How long, Syaoran? How long before you claim your prize?'_

~ to be continued ~

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**Next chapter: Sakura finally meets the remaining Li sisters, in particular, Syaoran's older sister, Xiefa, who is married to Gensou Hiro.**

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**Note:**


	12. Happy Birthday, My Lord

And here's the extra update. Next weeks update will be a day late so look for it on Mon/Tues.

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Administrative stuff

Summary: Li Syaoran must return to Kinomoto Kingdom with the remains of his fiancée after her tragic demise. But a marriage is still required to unite the two families, and now Syaoran has his pick of the six remaining daughters of Kinomoto Fujitaka for the sake of both their kingdoms. Romance/Mystery

Ages:  
Li Syaoran: 22 yrs (almost 23)  
Kinomoto Sakura: 21 yrs  
Kinomoto Tomoyo: 20 yrs  
Kinomoto Ayame: 18 yrs (dec)

Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura.

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It's Only Love – Happy Birthday, My Lord

Sakura stood before a full-length mirror, gently smoothing out the silky emerald fabric of her gown. She didn't think she'd ever seen anything so opulent in her life and yet she could not bring herself to dislike it. Even her wedding gown seemed simple in comparison.

The skirt was a wide a-line, draping neatly around her feet, while the bodice consisted of a jewel encrusted, dangerously low-cut corset, embroidered with silver threads that shimmered as they caught the sunlight. Over top she wore a tuxedo like jacket, pulled together at the waist by a gold chain, but receding in staggered drapes towards her sides and flowing into an elegant train. It was made out a lightweight, silky black fabric, with black lace flounces at her sleeves. The warm weather of Minami meant she could wear such lovely, light elegant fabrics without fear of catching a cold.

Syaoran watched her from the door with an almost predatory gaze as she tried her best to ignore him. It was not an easy task. She knew without even looking at him that his eyes were raking up and down her figure, sending a tiny thrill through her body. She tugged at the top of her bodice, feeling almost indecent as she caught his eye.

Her actions made him laugh and he finally decided to leave his post at the door. He stepped towards her, a suave grin on his lips as he embraced her from behind. "You must be my birthday present," he whispered huskily beside her ear, his lips grazing against her neck and his warm breath hitting the exposed skin of her chest. She shuddered in response, unable to hide her reaction when he was standing so close.

"You look heavenly, love," he added, pressing a kiss her cheek.

She smiled, meeting his eyes in the mirror, but not turning to face him. "I think this may be your gift from Sinomi-kun," she suggested, gesturing briefly to her attired before resting her hands on his.

"I must remember to thank her," he smiled, nuzzling her neck. "This is definitely my favourite present so far."

They lapsed into silence as Syaoran continued his gentle treatment of her, holding her close so that her body conformed to his. It was only when she caught his eyes once again that she turned in his arms, a frown creasing her forehead as they stood face-to-face with Syaoran's arms loosely draped around her waist.

"What were you thinking?" she asked him curiously. "You looked positively evil for a moment there."

He smiled at her deduction, kissing her quickly as a reward for her shrewdness. "I was thinking about what would be the best way to introduce you to my sisters," he grinned, a mischievous glint in his amber eyes. "I think I just came up with the perfect plan. Do you mind not coming down until we're seated for lunch?" he asked.

"Of course not," she replied, feeling a little disappointed all the same. "What are you planning?"

"Never mind," he said, catching her tone. "It sounds a lot like I'm trying to sequester you away or something. I'm sorry I upset you, Sakura."

She shook her head quickly. "I'm not upset," she tried to assure him. "I'll do whatever you want, Syaoran. I was just worried I might miss something important."

"Are you sure?" he asked, still uncertain. She nodded vigorously and he let out a soft sigh of relief. "I'll try and hurry them to lunch and stop them if it looks like anything interesting might happen.

"And I'm going to be a very bad host right now and stay up here with you until my presence becomes absolutely necessary," he added teasingly, tightening his hold on her.

"No you won't," she commanded. "You'll go downstairs right now and greet your sisters. Plus," she continued to reinforce her demand, "you have to go tell the others what you're planning so they don't reveal things prematurely."

"You're right," he groaned painfully.

"Ha," she replied, pushing him away, "I knew you were just trying to get out of seeing your sisters. No more using me as an excuse, Syao. Go," she said, pointing towards the door.

"Fine," he replied doggedly, kissing her cheek before dragging himself out of the room.

With Syaoran gone, Sakura could finally give in to the nerves she'd been hiding while Syaoran was observing her. Aside from today being Syaoran's birthday and very important in it's own right, this was Sakura's fist time meeting the three oldest Li sisters and would be her official coronation as Queen Sakura. This in itself was nerve wracking enough for Sakura, but the whole thing was compounded by the presence of Syaoran's oldest sister, Xiefa, who was the wife of Gensou Hiro. They would have to convince Xiefa that they were madly in love if they were to have even the slightest hope of convincing Gensou later, and this was what had Sakura so on edge.

Sakura knew there would be no problem on her part. Her task for the day was to convince Xiefa of something that was already true. There was no pretending required as she was already in love with him and had been from the start. In her mind, Syaoran was the one with the part to play – he was the one who had to feign emotions that he didn't feel.

But maybe he did feel them. Sometimes it seemed as though he did. He would hold her so gently and say such sweet things that she had to wonder why he would do and say those things if he didn't feel the same. It confused her greatly, because she had entered their marriage believing that the emotions only went one way, and yet at times – times when he would wrap his arms around her and tell her she was his best birthday present – it seemed as though that assumption was false.

She knew now that he never loved Ayame. His actions were at least clear in that respect. He never bothered to mention her, and at the same time, he didn't avoid it. She simply wasn't present in his thoughts or any part of him, and the loss left him unaffected. He was – as so many had said to her already – at best indifferent to Ayame.

But this still did not resolve his feelings towards her. She knew from what Feimei had revealed that he at least cared for her – cared for her enough to put her happiness first in his decision-making – but did it go beyond that? And what had changed his mind? Why was he happy to marry her now and not then?

Sakura sighed, shaking her head to try and disperse her thoughts. Thinking about it only left her more confused. There was a piece she was missing, and without it the whole argument just seemed circular. Whatever it was that Syaoran was keeping from her held the key to everything, and she only hoped that opening that door wouldn't break her heart all over again.

* * *

Li Yelan frowned as her son appeared down at the bottom of the stairs, a small grin on his face, as was often the case these days.

"Where's Sakura-chan?" she asked gently, her voice low. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Syaoran assured her, his smile secure. "She'll join us soon.

"Let's go to lunch," he announced loudly, halting the spread of conversation over the room.

"Xiao Lang, we've only just arrived," Hiragizawa Eriol protested, eying his friend suspiciously. "At least give us a chance to acquaint ourselves."

"I'm hungry," Syaoran responded, turning on his heal and expecting the rest to follow. The six of them did, seating themselves around a table set for eight. The girls immediately noticed the extra seat.

"Who are we waiting for?" asked Satou Fuutie who was married to a Higashi noble. "It better not be Saitou-kun," she added, glaring at her slightly younger twin, Saitou Fanren who married within Minami. "I don't think it's fair that he gets to be here when I had to travel all this way on my own."

"Actually it's for –" Li Feimei, the youngest of the four girls, began before being cut off by Fanren.

"Why are you looking at me?" Fanren exclaimed. "I bet it was Xiefa," she added, glaring at the eldest sister. "I can't believe you would badger little brother into inviting Gensou-san when he doesn't even like Syaoran."

"Me?" Gensou Xiefa asked, affronted by the accusation. "I'd do no such thing. If anyone's going to be badgering Syaoran to do their bidding, it would be you, Fuutie."

"Well, I'd never –"

"You know you'd –"

"Hypocrite –"

"Don't pretend you didn't –"

"This is so like you –"

"Like me? You're the one –"

"What about the time –"

"If anyone –"

"HOOOEEEEE!"

The in fighting between the three eldest Li sisters was cut off by a loud cry from the stairs. Yelan was the first out of her seat, helping Sakura back to her feet with the help of Wei.

"Are you okay, Sakura-chan?" Yelan asked worriedly, inspecting her daughter-in-law for any possible damage. "I was afraid something might have happened to you when Syaoran came down alone."

"I'm fine, Okaa-san," Sakura assured her with a smile. "Just my usual clumsy self.

"Syaoran-kun is plotting against his sisters," she added by way of explanation for Syaoran's strange behaviour.

"Oh," Yelan replied, understanding dawning on her features. "Is there any part you want me to play, my dear?" she asked, her smile eerily similar to the one Syaoran had sported earlier.

"I don't think so."

Yelan just nodded, placing a quick, motherly kiss on the crown of Sakura's head before leading her back to the table. The three sisters stared at her suspiciously. Sakura was starting to wonder what it was about her that seemed to engender this response from people.

"Who is this?" Xiefa asked, keen eyes examining the young girl before her.

Eriol, having picked up on what was going on, decided he would play his own part in things and chose to answer Xiefa's question obliquely, seemingly by ignoring it. "Xiao Lang, stop being such a cad and help your wife to her seat," the navy haired gentleman suggested, smiling carelessly. He delivered the line so naturally that it took a moment before Xiefa, Fuutie and Fanren even realized what he had said.

Syaoran sent him a scowl for ruining his fun, but complied with the suggestion all the same, leading Sakura to the seat beside his own and pushing it in behind her.

"You got married?" Fuutie gasped, staring disbelievingly at her brother's apparent wife. "When did this happen?"

"About three weeks ago?" Syaoran suggested, looking to Sakura for confirmation, she nodded, smiling shyly at the table.

"And you didn't tell us?" Fanren exclaimed. "How could you not tell us?"

"Girls," Yelan admonished.

"How long have you known our brother?" Xiefa asked suspiciously, eyes narrowed at Sakura and flashing protectively over towards her younger brother.

"Almost eighteen months," Sakura answered. "We met by accident really. The two of us just happened to be in the same place at the same time."

"How auspicious of you," Xiefa commented drolly. "I suppose your family is very happy with the match?"

"Of course," Sakura nodded. "Father has always thought highly of the Li's."

Seeing where his sister's interrogation was going, Syaoran decided to step in before it got ugly. "I have always thought highly of Fujitaka-sama as well," he said in support, smiling gently at Sakura who hadn't seemed to understand the undertones of his sister's questions.

"Fuji . . ." Xiefa began, her voice trailing off and her cheeks burning red as she realized how terrible an assumption she had made. Like Sinomi, she had assumed that Syaoran's sudden marriage meant he had not married well. "You are a Kinomoto princess?"

"Formerly," Sakura corrected. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you all," she told them all warmly. "I am Sakura – "

"KAWAII!" the three woman screamed collectively, even Xiefa whose mood seemed to have done a complete turn around. They jumped from their seats, surrounding her and complimenting her every feature. It was strange what a difference the name Kinomoto made to people's impression of her. She was sure that moments earlier Xiefa was thinking of ways to kick her out into the street.

"Fanren! Fuutie! Xiefa!" Syaoran called in a commanding voice, "leave her be. Sakura does not need you turning her into your new favourite doll."

"Mou, ototo-chan," Xiefa pouted, "we just wanted a better look at our new baby sister."

"Yeah, Syao-syao," Fanren added, sporting a similar puppy dog pout, "we're just trying to make friends. It's not our fault your wife is just too kawaii for words."

"Sakura-chan is so precious, 'ran-chan," Fuutie finished. "I can't believe you didn't tell us," she said, sending a glare at Feimei.

"I thought Okaa-san had told you," she said, deflecting onto her mother.

The three girls turned a collective glare upon their mother. "Your brother assured me he would tell you in his own time and I thought best to comply with his wishes," Yelan replied regally, raising a challenging eyebrow at her son as he sent her a 'thanks for nothing' look.

"Can we just eat?" Syaoran groaned painfully trying to divert the topic.

Sakura laughed at his desperate expression. "I guess we better do what the birthday boy says," she teased. In a rare moment of childishness, Syaoran poked his tongue out at her, surprising both his mother and sisters.

"You know you're just delaying the inevitable," she whispered to him, leaning in close as the food was placed in front of them. She smiled 'thank you' at the servers before turning back to Syaoran. "You've got lunch to think of a good enough excuse."

"I know," Syaoran nodded, "and right now I'm thinking I should blame the whole thing on you. Tell them you wanted me to yourself," he teased, grinning when she blushed.

"That's fine," Sakura replied, feigning indifference, "but you know I'll be obliged to correct you."

"With what?" he challenged.

"I'll tell them that you were so concerned about how they might take the marriage that you couldn't bear to tell them," she smiled. "I'll let them know how much their thoughts mean to you and what's really going on in that cold little heart of yours."

"Are they always like this?" Xiefa asked Feimei as she watched the two from across the table sharing teases and seemingly in their own little world. "Little brother is so cute," she gushed, "flirting with his own wife."

Feimei nodded enthusiastically. "You should see the way he looks at her sometimes," Feimei sighed dreamily. "He looks so smitten I just want to reach out and pinch his cheeks like we did when he was little."

"Awww," Xiefa responded, "I wish I could see that. I almost can't imagine Syaoran looking so sweet."

"I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen them with my own eyes," Feimei agreed. "I think it was love at first sight."

"All this time, and he never told us he was even courting her," Xiefa pouted.

"Nobody knew," cut in Eriol who was sitting nearby. Eriol, the skilled orator and fabricator of fiction that he was, had prepared the back-story for Sakura and Syaoran's unexpected nuptials and took pleasure in delivering it. He had purposely sat himself next to Xiefa for that very reason and now willingly shared the tall tale with its intended audience.

"It almost caused a scandal when Fujitaka-san found out," he told Xiefa in a low tone. Xiefa leaned in, eager to hear the tale. "Sakura-chan was being promised to a friend of her brother who was in need of bride when Syaoran suddenly appears demanding the hand of the engaged princess.

"They were lucky that Yukito-san was so good about it," Eriol concluded easily, "but it forced Syaoran to bring forward his plans and a quick marriage was organized before accusations of impropriety could fly."

"Well at least it had a happy ending," Xiefa said, her eyes falling upon the newlyweds once again as Syaoran pressed a kiss to his wife's hand. Sakura responded to the gesture with a smile so warm it could dispel even the coolest winter chill.

"I see no endings here," Eriol commented, grinning at the display. He knew that Xiefa was very much convinced of their feelings without either of them even trying. Real affection was all that it took.

"Who knew you were such a romantic, Eriol-kun?" Feimei teased.

"I guess Syaoran's rubbing off on me, ne?" he suggested, causing the two sisters to laugh at the suggestion.

"Perhaps," Feimei agreed, "but I think that's only because Sakura-chan is rubbing off on him."

* * *

~ _The following evening_

"Xiao Lang," Sakura heard someone quietly call, her sleep addled brain recognizing the voice as Eriol's.

Syaoran groaned, unwrapping his arms from around her form. It was this more than anything else that caused her to wake; the loss of his warmth jolting her from her dreams.

"What is it, Eli?" Syaoran asked unpleasantly, shielding Sakura from his view. Eriol noted this action and teasingly tried to look around his friend; Syaoran did not seem impressed by his attempted humour.

"Forgive me for interrupting your _pleasant_ nightly activities, my cute little descendant," Eriol began pompously, his words dripping with suggestiveness. The tone switched a moment later as an uncharacteristically serious Eriol told him, "You've got to come quickly. It's an emergency."

Syaoran climbed out of bed immediately, neither he nor Eriol noticing Sakura shifting around to watch them. He donned a loose shirt and breaches, glaring as Eriol's raised eyebrow.

"What's happened?" Syaoran asked anxiously, his reluctance to leave his wife evident in his stance. "Has something happened to her?"

Eriol shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not really sure," he admitted. "I was just told to fetch you.

"Whatever it is, she needs you, Syaoran," he finished dramatically. "You're practically her – "

"Who is she?" Sakura cut in, drawing the attention of the two men that had been oblivious to her waked state for the entire interaction. She sat up straight, bed sheet clutched to her chest as she narrowed her eyes at her husband and his best friend. "Who is she, Li?"

Syaoran gaped for a moment, unprepared for this eventuation. As realization sunk in, he dashed to her side, making desperate pleas on his own behalf. "It's not what you think, Sakura," he tried to assure her, cringing as her eyes narrowed further. "It's really not what you think."

"What am I supposed to think?" she demanded. "You're being secretive, sneaking out of our bedroom in the middle of the night to race to the side of some woman demanding your presence. It's not looking good, Syaoran, so just tell me her name."

"She doesn't have one," he admitted stupidly, not really helping the matter. He wracked his brain, trying to think of how he could possibly resolve this misunderstanding. "Sakura, it's not –"

"Syaoran," Eriol cut in, his hand resting upon his friend's shoulder as he gave him a look that conveyed innumerable things. Syaoran seemed to relax a little under his touch, allowing Eriol to take control of the situation.

"Sakura-san," Eriol said gently, "I think it is time for you to meet your niece."

~ to be continued ~

Cliffy! How I managed to go this long without a significant cliffhanger is beyond me. I usually throw them in every other chapter. Reviews will not make the next chapter come any faster, but they are always appreciated.

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**Next chapter: ? ? ?**

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**Note:**

**Sakura's dress:** The dress is sort of based on a Tea Gown. The link to the picture was really long, so I suggest just putting 'tea gown' in google images if you're someone who likes being able to visualize.


	13. All's Fair in Love and War

Now that I've held you all in suspense, here's the much longed for thirteenth chapter, and an explanation of sorts.

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Administrative stuff

Summary: Li Syaoran must return to Kinomoto Kingdom with the remains of his fiancée after her tragic demise. But a marriage is still required to unite the two families, and now Syaoran has his pick of the six remaining daughters of Kinomoto Fujitaka for the sake of both their kingdoms. Romance/Mystery

Ages:  
Li Syaoran: 23 yrs  
Kinomoto Sakura: 21 yrs  
Kinomoto Tomoyo: 20 yrs  
Kinomoto Ayame: 18 yrs (dec)

Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura.

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It's Only Love – All's Fair in Love and War

_"Ay me,"_ Kinomoto Ayame sighed resting again the balcony and staring longingly into the distance.

_"She speaks,"_ a young man replied, his voice tinted with the perfect undulation of adoration. His ochre eyes observed her with awe as a hand swept through his silvery grey hair. _"O speak again, bright angel! for thou art as glorious to this night, being o'er my head as a winged messenger of heaven unto the white-upturned wondering eyes of mortals that fall back to gaze him when he bestrides the lazy pacing clouds and sails upon the bosom of the air."_

Ayame sighed, her eyes becoming glazed and unfocused as she turned her mind to the young man below her. _"Oh Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I'll no longer be a Capulet._"

"_Shall I hear more?"_ her Romeo asked, turning to the crowd who gave him an encouraging cheer.

Ayame performed her lines with expert parsing, revelling in the crowd and the attention. She loved the stage - loved the excitement and the adoration she received. She was addicted to what being on stage meant. It was the one time when she could have all the attention upon herself instead of it being shared among the seven in equal parts

For tonight she was the star, and come tomorrow she would be forced to return to the life of a princess, which wasn't nearly as grand as people think.

* * *

"You did wonderfully tonight, fair Juliet," her co-star told her, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her neck from behind.

Ayame arched to his ministrations, a smirk on her lips the whole time. "Be careful, Toru," she cautioned as she felt his teeth grazing against her throat. "It took me forever to cover up the marks you made last time. Just because you play my lover on stage, doesn't mean you have free reign of my body off stage."

Odamaki Toru laughed, turning her in his arms. "Forgive me, Juliet," he replied in a low voice, "but you are more tempting than even the most succulent apple.

"Perhaps I should mark you where your husband will never find it?" he suggested, his hands shifting indecently and making their way under her dress. "He's an old fool to let such a beauty out of his sight."

Ayame gasped at the familiar route his hands were taking, desperately trying to maintain her senses. "What makes you think I have a husband?" she asked, her voice ragged and breathless.

"I assumed that was the reason why you were hiding your identity, _Juliet_," he replied. "But if that's not the case, then I wish to present myself to your father and ask for your hand, Juliet-chan."

Ayame had to bite back a laugh as the silver haired boy grasped her hands in his and gave her a look of upmost sincerity. She wished that he had been a better actor so that she could brush it off as a play and put his hands back to better uses. Instead she had to put her own acting skills to use before they could return to more enjoyable activities.

_'Like I'd ever lower myself to marry the likes of you, Toru,'_ she thought derisively in her head, masking her easy smirk with a look of distress and letting her eyes fill with tears. _'Princesses do not marry kitchen hands, not if they want to get anywhere in this world. You were fun to play with, Toru, but your place is well below me.'_

"Oh, Toru, I wish I could," she said instead, "but my father would never allow such a match. My love for you and my love of the stage are my two greatest secrets. I wish I could tell the world, but my family would never approve of such a path. The best I can hope for is a life in two parts, knowing my happiest life will always be here with you."

She clung to him desperately, the look of a broken woman upon her face. He opened his mouth to reply – to give comfort and solace she assumed – but a loud knock at the dressing room door drew their attention.

Fennyman, the show's producer stepped in with a rather disarming gentleman with dark navy hair and azure eyes. "I'd like to introduce you to a very important patron," Fennyman announced to his two stars. "This is Hi –"

"Li Ryuu," the gentleman cut in introducing himself by the name he was given at birth rather than the one the elders had thought was more appropriate for a child of his status.

"Li?" Ayame questioned, recognising the name of the Minami sovereign. "Are you related to Li-heika?" she asked nervously, hoping he wasn't among the higher ranking Li's that would surely know her true identity and likely blow her cover.

"Distantly," 'Li Ryuu' replied, knowing this would assure her – Ayame would be more likely to slip if she wasn't on her guard. "We are related through Li Syaoran's grandfather," he replied, which was technically true. He left Ayame to make her own inferences.

He saw her visibly relax and so began his praise. "I was very impressed by your skill, Juliet-san," he told her. "It was honestly the first time I had seen a female in the role. You are the finest Juliet I've seen in all my years as a patron of the arts."

"Thank you very much, Li-san," she said with false humility, "but I would be nothing without my fellow actors like Odamaki-san here."

The boy beside her frowned, ochre eyes flashing with hurt before he put on the same act of humility, praising 'Juliet-san' for her loveliness and talent.

"You have a certain loveliness about you, Juliet-san," Ryuu noted, pausing as if to consider it. "You remind me of someone."

He paused to give it further contemplation, noting the way that Ayame tensed as he gave a purposeful, "I've got it.

"You remind me of the late Queen of Kita," he told her. "You're as lovely as Kinomoto Nadeshiko herself."

Ayame laughed falsely at the compliment declaring that she had never been compared to royalty before adding a common lilt to her voice to throw off the scent.

"Well that certainly surprises me," Ryuu replied, his eyes smiling plainly and his tone cheerful. "Well I best be off, Juliet-san. I hope we can meet again."

He left with Fennyman, leaving Ayame to sit and calm her nerves.

"So that's who you are," Toru said, his tone almost sneering. "He's right. You look almost exactly like your mother. I can't believe I didn't see it earlier."

"Yes," Ayame said, admitting defeat. "I am Kinomoto Meilin, but you mustn't – "

"No you're not," he said, cutting her off with a harsh laugh. "Kinomoto Meilin-hime has crimson eyes. Only two of the princesses have their mother's eyes.

"And I know you are not Kinomoto Sakura-hime," he added quickly before she could claim another false name, "because she would never be so heartless.

"Which means you're Ayame," he concluded, feeling no need to honour her with the appropriate title.

She shrugged indifferently, dropping her mask for an instance. "Clever boy, Toru," she told him before reverting back to her desperate tone. "Now you see why we can never be together."

He nodded, standing up and walking towards the door. "I do, princess," he said as he walked past her, a low quality to his voice. "You're just not as good an actress you thought."

* * *

Toru's words haunted her dreams but she thought nothing of it, turning her mind instead to the handsome Li Ryuu who had visited her after the show. She was sure she had seen intrigue in his eyes as they roamed over her features, and although he was only a minor Li, she decided that his physical beauty would make up for what he lacked in status. It would save her the trouble of finding a lover if they married, which Toru proved could be quite troublesome indeed.

She considered Ryuu for a while, wondering who might be able to give her information so she could enable her plan of action. It wouldn't take much to mould herself into his perfect woman, and she might even be able to use her worldly ways to her advantage.

A knock on her door ended her train of though and Meilin flounced in a moment later with a jovial 'morning'.

"Really, sister," Ayame admonished jokingly. "I might have had a man in here."

Meilin laughed and blushed at her sister's humour, which often bordered on crude. She felt freer in letting Ayame talk like this when it was just the two of them. With the others around she felt as though she had a duty to rein Ayame in. It was somehow different when it was just she and her twin.

"I gave him plenty of notice if he needed to make his escape, A'me," Meilin teased happily. "What were you thinking about? You almost looked dazed when I came in," she added thoughtfully, taking a seat on her sister's bed.

"If you must know, I was thinking about Li Ryuu," Ayame announced proudly. "I met him last night at the show I attended," she lied. "He is a distant cousin of Li-heika, and very handsome. Have you heard of him?"

Meilin shook her head. "He must be quite distant. Perhaps Tomoyo-chan will know. I know she keeps in contact with Li Feimei so she might be able to find some information for you. Li-chan will surely know."

"I'll have to ask her later," Ayame sighed. "Hopefully he isn't _too_ distant. He was doing so well in all other respects – handsome, well spoken, rich – I'd hate to have to knock him back on status alone. It seems to shallow."

Meilin laughed, teasingly tugging at a strand of raven hair identical to her own. "I don't suppose you'd ever consider marrying for love, would you, A'me?"

Ayame gave Meilin a patronising look at her wistful tone. "Love is a privilege of the poor – the lower classes can marry for love, but we must marry well, Mei-chan," she said almost consolingly. "Love is for mistresses, not wives.

"Now what did you come barging in here for, Mei-chan?" Ayame asked cheerily, her tone changing now her monologue was completed.

"Right," Meilin said, jumping to her feet as she recalled her reason for her visit. "I need some napkins."

Ayame shook her head in mock admonishment, getting up and taking graceful steps to her dresser.

"Have you been stockpiling, A'me?" Meilin asked, noting her sister's supply.

Ayame shook her head, paling slightly as realization hit her. "I've just missed a couple because of the stress of the season," she assured her sister. "At this rate Chiharu will beat us to the alter, and people will start calling us old maids like Sakura-chan and Tomoyo-chan."

"You've nothing to worry about, A'me-chan," Meilin promised, wrapping her twin in a one-arm hug. "Sakura-chan and Tomoyo-chan are 'old maids' by choice. They're each determined to refuse all but their 'true love'."

Ayame raised an eyebrow in intrigue and Meilin explained.

"Well you know Sakura's been in love with that boy – oh I forget his name – since we were all toddlers," she began. "And I heard Tomoyo and Sakura talking about their true loves. They said there was only one man they'd ever marry, and until he asks they'll happily bear the title of 'maid'."

Ayame shook her head. "This is why you should forget about marrying for love, Mei-chan," Ayame said wisely. "You'll just get old waiting on the one you love. You need to be smart and marry proper and let love come later – even if it is not with your husband."

"You're awful, A'me," she laughed, swatting her sister playfully, "but I'll keep it in mind."

With those last words, Meilin was gone and Tomoyo replaced her moments later. "Sakura and I are going to market soon. Are you interested in joining us?" Tomoyo asked, her eyes ever observant.

Ayame frowned. "Are you asking because you want me to come or because Sakura-chan asked you too?" she questioned, returning Tomoyo's look of quiet intelligence with one of challenge and mild contempt. Tomoyo was never fooled by any of the faces she put on, and so Ayame saw no need to mince words with her older sister.

Tomoyo shrugged. "Whichever suits you, Ayame-chan," she said with sugar coated pleasantries.

"I need some things, but I'll go later," she replied, her question answered by Tomoyo's disposition. "Before you go," she added, "have you heard of a Li Ryuu?"

Tomoyo was shocked by the question, but did not show it. "Only that he married well," she said hiding the sadness in her voice. "He's the sort of man I'm sure you'd admire, Ayame-chan. He married to achieve status instead of happiness, and now his mistress must bear the burden.

"Sakura was hoping to get some guidance of what you might like as a present, so you might want to drop a few hints," she added changing the conversation before Ayame thought too hard about her words and the lilt of disdain in her voice. "It's Sakura, so remember not to be too subtle."

* * *

The apothecary said he had no brew that would cure her this far along. He knew a man who used alternative methods to achieve the same end, but his work left obvious signs of what had been done and she would need a nurse to attend to her constantly for two days of bed rest in order to avoid its more morbid consequences. It simply wasn't an option, and she had so few to choose from.

She could tell her father and beg for his forgiveness, but even Fujitaka with his liberal ways would expect and marriage and she knew that Toru would not marry her even if she were willing to subject _herself_ to that fate. She could lie and say she was raped, but the consequences were even worse – an inquest and then a marriage to Yukito most likely, who she was almost certain preferred his own gender.

She had no choice but to run away. Staying would only lead to worse consequences, and yet she dreaded the thought of the life she would lead having to care for this child in squalor. What she needed was to get away, get rid of the baby and then return back to her real life when it was all over and marry someone rich and handsome like Li Ryuu. She saw little chance of that happening.

And then suddenly, Li Syaoran arrived, providing the perfect opportunity. Her first plan had been to seduce him and claim that the child was his, but the plan proved difficult when he pretty much refused to even look in her direction. From the moment of his arrival, he had seemed far more interested in the company of her oldest sisters, and Sakura in particular. It seemed that she had some very stiff competition, as the young monarch appeared positively besotted with Sakura.

This left her with plan B – an appeal to Syaoran's nature. She had picked up on snippets of conversation between Touya and her father about the need for an alliance, so she knew that a marriage was guaranteed. She just needed to find a way to ensure that she was Sayoran's choice.

* * *

"Syaoran, I'm pregnant," she said quite abruptly as the two sat together in a secluded part of the castle grounds.

Syaoran frowned, not sure of what he was supposed to do with that information. It wasn't like it was his. This was the longest he'd ever been alone with Ayame, and he doubted their briefer interludes really gave enough time for him to impregnate her even if he was interested. He found her generally shallow and self-important, and her beauty hollow compared to Sakura's radiance. His best instincts told him to be on guard.

"I'm sorry for you, Ayame-san," he said plainly, his voice holding neither sympathy nor condolence. "Why are you telling me this?"

"I'm telling you because I need your help, Syaoran-kun," she said dramatically, her eyes wet with tears. Syaoran's frown deepened; he had never given her permission to address him so informally and did not think it right for anyone other than Sakura to address him by his given name.

Either Ayame didn't see his frown, or misinterpreted it as concern, for she continued on with her tirade. "I was involved with a soldier and we were to get married after his crusade, but he died in the field and now I'm left alone with his unborn child."

"What army?" Syaoran asked suspiciously.

"The Nasu army in the far north," she replied easily, having the forethought to prepare her lies in advance. "Syaoran-kun, I need you to marry me," she said seriously, emotion rising in her voice once again. "If I stay here I will bring such dishonour to my family. I just didn't know where else to turn," she cried, latching onto him.

Syaoran shifted uncomfortably, his arms pinned tightly to his side. "Ayame-san, I ca-"

"I know you want to marry Sakura," she cut in, rolling her eyes when he began to stutter his protests. "Sakura already has someone she loves," she told him. "Could you really take her away from her most important person?"

His shoulders slumped in defeat and Ayame knew that she had won. She'd easily picked Syaoran for the self-sacrificing type, and it seemed he would do anything for Sakura – even sacrificing his own happiness. The right turn of phrase and he was putty in her hands.

He sighed, his eyes pricking with tears he would never let fall. "I'll marry you, Ayame-san," he said quietly, tensing as Ayame gave him a gentle squeeze. "I-I'll go let your father know I've made my decision."

Ayame smiled victoriously as he walked away, his whole being shattered by a few simple words. She felt a brief sense of remorse, wondering if Sakura had even felt the same, but pushed the thoughts aside before she could truly dwell on them.

_'I'm sorry, Sakura-chan,'_ she thought solemnly to herself while inwardly cheering at the job well done. _'Some things must be sacrificed for one's survival, even family._

_'As they say, all's fair in love and war.'_

~ to be continued ~

Probably not the chapter you were wanting, but clearly a vital piece of things. This obviously answers the question that many were wondering over whose niece they were talking about. When Eriol said niece, he meant a niece that was related to Sakura by blood and Syaoran by marriage.

Obviously I am milking this cliff hanger, but review all the same.

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**Next chapter: ? ? ?**

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**Note:**

**Ay me . . .:** The lines are from Act II, Scene II of _Romeo and Juliet_ by the timelessly brilliant William Shakespeare. 'Star-cross'd lovers' from way back before it was a trope.

**Li Ryuu:** In case anyone's forgotten Li Ryuu (Jr technically) = Hirigizawa Eriol who married for the wrong reasons and is now suffering for it (along with his mistress who is not really his mistress).


	14. This Betrayal

So here's the chapter you really have all been waiting. Enjoy!

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Administrative stuff

Summary: Li Syaoran must return to Kinomoto Kingdom with the remains of his fiancée after her tragic demise. But a marriage is still required to unite the two families, and now Syaoran has his pick of the six remaining daughters of Kinomoto Fujitaka for the sake of both their kingdoms. Romance/Mystery

Ages:  
Li Syaoran: 23 yrs  
Kinomoto Sakura: 21 yrs  
Kinomoto Tomoyo: 20 yrs  
Kinomoto Ayame: 18 yrs (dec)

Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura.

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It's Only Love – This Betrayal

_"You slept with my sister!"_ Sakura exclaimed, the words coming out in a harsh whisper.

"No," Syaoran replied quickly. "Sakura, I would never . . . you know I would never . . ."

"I don't know what I know," she responded coolly. "Up until a minute ago I knew I had one niece, and I knew she was in Kita. She even has a name, now that I think about it."

"Sakura-san," Eriol replied, "if you just come with us, you'll see the truth for yourself."

"Fine," Sakura replied, "I'll see my _niece_, but I need to get ready first, so if you don't mind . . ."

Eriol nodded and left the room, but Syaoran remained rooted to his spot on the edge of their bed. "I'd like some privacy," she suggested tightly.

"It's nothing I haven't seen," he challenged, the refusal implied.

"Something Ayame and I have in common then," she answered dryly.

Syaoran frowned, but willed himself to stay calm rather than turning this into a screaming match. "Sakura, I never slept with your sister," he promised, taking her hand in his own. His voice was laced with desperation and his golden eyes looked pleadingly into her own.

She froze, his sincerity breaking down her defences. Her anger subsided a little, only to be replaced by a sense of sadness and betrayal. She pulled her hand away, using her now free hand to wipe away the tears that were collecting in her eyes. "I really want to believe you, Syaoran," she told him, a sob catching in her throat, "but what else am I supposed to think?"

He sighed, seating himself beside her at a comfortable distance. "I suppose I'd think the same if I was in your position, but I swear that the child isn't mine," he told her. "Your sister was pregnant before she came here.

"I would never do that, Sakura," he said meaningfully. "I mean, for starters I couldn't even stand her. She was just so . . ."

"Fake?" Sakura suggested when Syaoran failed to find the word himself. He nodded, looking at her in surprise. "Tomoyo often said the same," she explained, sniffing conspicuously. "Her and Ayame never got along, I guess because Tomoyo could always see through her.

"Continue," she prompted.

A brief smile flicked on his lips, and he did as she told. "Well, secondly, we weren't married," he continued. "It would be inappropriate even if we were engaged.

"And finally," he said slowly, risking taking her hand in his once again. She didn't pull away this time and so he took that as a sign of encouragement. "Even if we were married, being with her would be a betrayal because . . . I love you, Sakura, and only you. You are the only person I ever want to be with."

Sakura gasped at his words, her eyes searching his for a sign of a lie, but there was nothing there – nothing in them but love. Suddenly everything made sense. This was the piece she was missing. He loved her, and he had given up everything for her happiness, only to find out later it was all a lie. Ayame had done it all for her own survival, and nothing else.

Suddenly she understood why he would say such nice things to her and why he had kept pushing at the start of their marriage despite her cool rebuff. She suddenly understood why so much of the decor seemed to be to her tastes, and why Syaoran had a dress made for her despite her absence from his life. She suddenly understood why it had been so easy for Ayame to trick him into their engagement - he had been heartbroken when Ayame told him 'the truth', and yet he would do absolutely anything to secure her happiness including marrying someone he didn't love.

"Your sister died in child birth," he lied, giving one last piece of information to complete the picture. "In spite of how I felt about her, I promised your sister I would never let your father know the truth. I tried to tell you, but . . ."

She nodded silently as she digested it all. "I believe you, Syaoran," she told him quietly.

He sighed with relief, pulling her gently into his arms. "I really wish this had come under easier circumstances," he said softly. "I really did try to lose the other day."

"You know I love you," she said quietly, listening for the low murmur of assent. She paused to enjoy the moment and everything that it meant, until Syaoran's words raised a red flag in her mind. "Wait," she said, pulling away from him, "I knew you were going easy on me," she cried, slapping her hand into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he smiled at her, gently caressing her face, "but you're just not good at cards, Sakura, and nothing is going to change that.

"Now come on," he said pulling her from the bed and towards the wardrobe. "We have to go see her."

Sakura dressed quickly, and moments later she was on her way to the other side of the castle. As they got close to the room, the sounds of an infant's wail drifted from inside.

"Is she okay?" Sakura asked worriedly, concern on her features.

"I'm not sure," Syaoran replied. "Feimei has been caring for her with the help of a wet nurse. She usually only calls me when she's having difficulty putting her to sleep."

"Syaoran," Feimei said, exiting the room as she heard her brother's voice outside. She started when she saw Sakura, gasping loudly.

"She knows," Eriol said simply. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know," Feimei replied, leading them back into the room, "and I can't get a doctor to see her until morning."

"Have you checked her ears?" Sakura suggested cautiously, looking shy when three pairs of eyes turned to look at her. "Yumiko had some problems with her ears when she was born, and Otou-san said Tomoyo and Naoko had the same problem."

Feimei nodded thoughtfully before using an old Li family remedy to check the baby's ears for any problems. "They're enflamed," she confirmed. "I think I have a solution somewhere that might help."

"Feimei-neechan?" Sakura asked quietly. "C-can I . . . I mean, do you mind if I hold her?"

Feimei nodded, happy to hand off the child to her true relative. Sakura took her gently, studying the features of her little niece and quickly understanding what Eriol had been trying to say earlier. She could see Ayame in her – in her green eyes and dark hair – but there was no Syaoran in her. It was clear that Syaoran had told her the truth, and she was glad that she had already made up her mind to believe him.

"She looks like my mother," she cooed softly, rubbing comforting circles into the babies back to quiet her tears. Although she continued to cry, the baby's sobs softened as she became distracted by the novelty of another person in her small circle of companions.

"What about her father?" Sakura asked suddenly, glancing up at the two monarchs for comment. "Does he know about her?"

"Your sister said it was a dead soldier," Syaoran replied.

"But we're pretty sure that was a lie," Eriol added, earning himself a stern look from Syaoran who had wanted to leave it that. "I think I know who the father is," Eriol continued, "but I doubt he'll want anything to do with her. Ayame-san left a poor impression on him."

"She tends to do that to people," Syaoran muttered lowly.

"So have you all just been calling her 'it' for the last two months?" Sakura asked, finding it quite absurd to have a baby without a name.

"Your turn," Eriol said, flicking his hand at Syaoran. Eriol had wanted to name her Anna in an oblique reference to her father's profession and the circumstances under which Odamaki and Ayame had met, but Syaoran had been dead against it.

Syaoran flushed awkwardly as he tried to put his thoughts into words. "I didn't think it was right any of us naming her when we have no ties to her," he told her nervously. "I was hoping you would name her, Sakura."

Sakura looked at him gently, her heart warmed by his words. "You really have been trying to tell me this, haven't you?" she smiled at him, stepping close to plant a kiss on his cheek. "I think we should name her after my mother," she said as she stepped back. "I think Ayame would have liked that."

"Ayame would have liked what?" Feimei asked as she returned with a small vial.

"Her name," Sakura said, turning to face Feimei. "Nadeshiko."

Feimei nodded, taking the newly name Nadeshiko in her arms so that she could apply her medicine. "I think it's the perfect name," she smiled, watching as Sakura gravitated towards Syaoran's open arms. Relief filled the room as a certain ease rested over them.

It seemed that Ayame's spectre had finally left them, and things would finally be right for Sakura and Syaoran.

* * *

Several days later

Gensou Hiro considered his wife the most confusing specimen of the female species. She was astute and shrewd, a fierce fighter and strategist, and a firm, but reasonable ruler. She was exceptionally beautiful, the slight impurity in her lineage enhancing the notable features of the Li line – pin straight black hair traded for wavy caramel locks that perfectly complimented her cat like, onyx eyes. She was the perfect mother and wife; the perfect combination of submissiveness and dominance.

In all these respects, Gensou considered his wife to exceed all other women, and yet despite the keen intellect he knew she held, there were times when her wondered about her. Times like this when she sat babbling beside him about god knows what like an excited teenager - the astute, intelligent, powerful woman he had come to love seemingly non-existent.

There were some things that just turned his otherwise perfect wife into a ditzy bubble of air. He wished he could just tell her to be quiet and let him enjoy his meal in peace, but at the same time, he did not wish to incur the consequences of saying so. Xiefa's skill in martial arts surpassed even his own and he caught himself wondering if maybe he should have married into a family that didn't train their daughters quiet so well.

_'What was she taking about again?'_ he wondered to himself, knowing she was coming towards the end of her babbling session and would expect some indication that he had been listening the whole time. _'Something about Li's birthday I think.'_

He inclined himself more towards his wife, tuning in to the conversation she had been having with herself for the last twenty minutes.

"- and ototo-chan's wife is _sooo_ cute. She –"

"Your brother married?" he asked, unable to hide the disappointment in his voice. Gensou had hoped that Syaoran would remain the eternal bachelor, thus making his own sons the next in line to rule of Minami. With Syaoran married, an heir would soon be on its way – the boy would always do his duty.

"When did this happen?" he cautioned, almost certain that this was the first time that she had mentioned Syaoran having a wife. He didn't want to risk Xiefa's wrath if he was wrong.

Lucky for him, the talk of Syaoran and his wife had put her in an impossibly good mood. "I told you just before," she replied brightly. "They were married nearly a month ago. Eri-kun said it was love at first sight."

"I'm sure," Gensou snorted. "For her sake, I hope your brother is treating her kindly."

"Hiro," Xiefa admonished, "don't be mean. Syaoran is perfectly behaved to his wife. He was acting impossibly sweet the whole time we were there. In fact," she continued pointedly, "I even think I envy Syaoran's little wife – it's not like _my husband_ brings me flowers every morning."

"That's because your husband has no need to," Gensou replied, lifting her hand to his lips in a warm, appeasing gesture. "I am assured enough in your affections, Xiefa, that I do not need to buy your love every morning, and you are assured enough in mine, that you do not need them."

He 'tsked' aloud, shaking his head at the thought. "I never would have picked your brother as one for such . . . ostentatious," he said derisively, "displays of affection."

"It is not 'ostentatious'," Xiefa argued, eyes flashing dangerously. He should have known better by now than to say anything against his wife's precious baby brother. "It's sweet and I think it's absolutely adorable that little brother would go to so much effort just to keep his wife happy. He'd do almost anything just to please her."

Gensou half-snorted at the words. "Sounds like far more effort than she's worth," he said tiredly. "Perhaps if he married better he'd have a wife with less demanding requirements for happiness. A true aristocrat would never ask for such a display."

Xiefa rolled her eyes huffily. "You have no idea what you're talking about," she intoned angrily. "He doesn't bring her flowers because she asks him to, he does it because he loves her and because he loves to see her smile.

"And if you'd been listening to a single word I'd been saying for the past half hour," she continued, lifting her skirts as she stood, "you'd know that Sakura-chan _is_ a true aristocrat and that it would be impossible to consider a better match for Syaoran than Sakura-chan. She is not some power hungry, wanna-be royal. She is a Kinomoto princess and the named heir of the Amamiya's. And brother loves her very dearly so I will not take you saying such things about her, Hiro."

She turned quickly on her heel, long skirts whipping around behind her as she stalked out of the room. His first reaction was dismay at having got his wife so angry, but as Xiefa's words sunk in, dismay turned to anger, anger turned to outrage, and outrage to seething vengeance.

"That sneaky Li brat," he muttered aloud, eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Tan, get my carriage," he called to a nearby servant. "It seems that I have to pay my brother-in-law a little visit."

~ to be continued ~

Past the climax now, so it's just a matter of tying up all those pesky loose ends.

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**Next chapter: Gensou visits Syaoran. Last chapter before Epilogue.**

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**Note:**

**Gensou Hiro: **Despite being a bit of a prick, Gensou is more power hungry than evil. He's a touch displeased at Syaoran for ruining his plans of total world domination. In fact, Gensou probably would have been better off if Syaoran had married Ayame because then there'd be no heirs and Gensou would have scored himself a kingdom by association. I'm sure many are going to question why Syaoran would let his sister marry such a prick and there are two very good reasons: (1) it's an arranged marriage; and (2) the marriage occurred during Syaoran's father's reign. And even though Gensou is awful, he does love Xiefa so you've got to give him that, right? It's like his one redeeming feature. I even kinda like him a little in the scene with Xiefa.


	15. To Arms

So here it is. Final chapter, but not the end. Epilogue will be up at the end of the week.

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Administrative stuff

Summary: Li Syaoran must return to Kinomoto Kingdom with the remains of his fiancée after her tragic demise. But a marriage is still required to unite the two families, and now Syaoran has his pick of the six remaining daughters of Kinomoto Fujitaka for the sake of both their kingdoms. Romance/Mystery

Ages:  
Li Syaoran: 23 yrs  
Kinomoto Sakura: 21 yrs

Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura.

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It's Only Love – This Betrayal

It had been a week since Nadeshiko had been revealed to Sakura and since then some changes had occurred in the Li castle. The first was that Nadeshiko had been moved, as soon as it was practicable, to Sakura and Syaoran's room so that Sakura could personally care for her niece. Syaoran made little protest to this change, pleased to see the two together.

The second change was perhaps more subtle but did not go unnoticed by anyone around them. The relationship between Sakura and Syaoran had changed. They were now more openly affectionate with one another and able to express the emotions they had been trying to hide a week earlier. Syaoran took every opportunity he could to both tell her and show her how much he loved her, and Sakura reciprocated in kind with sweet gestures of love and affection.

Sakura smiled warmly to herself as she ran her fingers through Nadeshiko's curly, ashen locks. The two-month infant gurgled at the attention, grasping for the hand as it hovered over her face.

"I love you, Nadee-chan," she whispered to the child, lifting her back into her arms, and lying back on the bed with Nadeshiko resting upon her chest.

"Have I been replaced?" Syaoran teased from the doorway where he was watching the two with a warm expression. Nadeshiko immediately turned towards the sound of his voice, her hands reaching towards him. With a smile Syaoran walked to the bed, lifting the baby into his arms where she immediately settled.

"If anyone should worry about being replaced, it's me," Sakura replied, sitting up with a pout. "You are interrupting mine and Nadeshiko's private time," she scolded. "We were bonding until you came along."

"I could give her back to you, but you know she'd just cry," Syaoran suggested, kissing his wife's cheek to try and appease her sour expression.

"I know," she sighed. "Why does Nadeshiko like you more than me? I'm her mother. It's not fair," she sulked childishly.

Syaoran grinned at her admission, not daring to point it out and ruin the moment. It was the first time that Sakura had openly referred to herself as Nadeshiko's mother (although he was sure it wasn't the first time that she had thought of herself that way) and thus a momentous occasion. Syaoran had considered her such from the moment she first took Nadeshiko in her arms, and so was glad to see they were on the same page.

"You hear that, Nadee-chan," he said aloud, lifting the child to his face so he could rub his nose against hers in an Eskimo kiss. "Your mummy is jealous that you like Otou-san more than her. You've hurt Okaa-san's feelings, Nadee."

For a moment Nadeshiko looked positively dismayed by the pain she had inflicted. Her features scrunched up in concentration and her face turned almost red with embarrassment. But a moment later, her expression changed to relief, and her contented look caused Syaoran pale.

"You know what, I think you're right," he said suddenly, handing Nadeshiko back to Sakura despite his earlier insistence that it would only end in tears. "I shouldn't have interrupted your mother-daughter bonding. It's very important. I should leave you two."

With those last words, he quickly made his escape, almost running out of the room to avoid diaper duty.

Sakura just shook her head. "You see that, Nadee-chan," she laughed. "Your papa is a big fat chicken. And a silly one at that," she added after giving the baby a quick sniff. "You were just pretending, weren't you, Nadeshiko. You naughty little girl playing a mean trick on your papa like that.

"I think we should take ourselves to the garden before he comes back and tries to interrupt us again," Sakura suggested, not waiting for assent. She grabbed her favourite sunhat and a little white cap for Nadeshiko before heading out to the garden for a leisurely stroll with her favourite little girl.

* * *

Syaoran sighed with relief as he found refuge in the empty library, feeling as though he had just dodged a bullet. As much as he adored both Nadeshiko and Sakura, the thought of diaper duty still made him shake in his boots. There were just some things a man was not meant to see.

He smiled as he thought of his small family – his wife and daughter. He found it hard to think of Nadeshiko as anything but his and Sakura's even if they weren't her biological parents. He didn't care if her father didn't want her or if Ayame had refused to even look at her; _they_ wanted her, and that was what mattered. Nadeshiko belonged only to those that loved her.

She was such a good little girl – rarely fussy and quick to settle. She did have a particular preference for him, but he assumed that was only because he had been with her the most often in the period after her birth. She had imprinted on him – or he was imprinted on her – while Sakura was still new and perhaps a little scary. He was sure it probably wouldn't last, and so would make the most of it while he could.

He wasn't left long with these thoughts before a brief knock on the library door brought him to attention and Wei popped his head in looking rather perturbed. "Is something wrong, Wei?" he asked, noting the old mans worried expression.

Wei frowned in response. "I'm sorry to disturb you, Syaoran-sama," he said with a quick bow. "We have a visitor."

"Who –"

"Li-kun," a voice cut in as large, dark-haired man forced the doors open and entered the room. Syaoran grimaced as the man pushed aside his head servant and surveyed the room with a haughty look. "Why don't you get us some tea, my good man," the man said, turning back to Wei and waving him out of the room. Wei nodded, reluctant to leave, glancing at Syaoran for confirmation before going on his way.

"It's been so long since I've seen you, Li-kun," the man greeted with a fox like grin. "Nearly a year I think."

"You are probably right, Gensou-san," Syaoran replied. "What brings you here?"

"Oh nothing, nothing," Gensou replied, casually examining an expensive tapestry that hung on the wall. "How are you, Li-kun?" he said as though by way of light conversation. "Any new business in the life of the Li monarch."

"I am the same as always," Syaoran replied cordially, giving nothing away. "I'm sorry if that displeases you."

"No, of course not, brother," Gensou returned, avoiding the double meaning of Syaoran's statement. There was evidently no love lost between them. A silent contempt lay between them, each party goading the other to step out of line and give them reason to attack.

Gensou moved causally around the room while Syaoran silently observed his brother-in-law. It was more than apparent that Gensou knew of his bride and so now it was a matter of strategy over who would make the first move. For now they each held their cards close to their chest, waiting for the other to show.

"This is new," Gensou said, stopping at an ornately crafted table in the centre of the room. It was made out of dark ebony wood not native to Minami lands and the work was reminiscent of the Amamiya kingdom, which was famous for their wood crafting.

Syaoran knew it was a trap. Gensou laid his words carefully, expecting to catch Syaoran in a stream of stutters and denials, but Syaoran would not go down without a fight. He was in his element here – playing games and testing strategies – it was like a game of cards, only with higher stakes.

"It was a wedding present," Syaoran replied coolly, indifferent even. "Misaki-san crafted it himself."

"Ah yes, the wedding," Gensou grinned. "I believe your sister mentioned it. She sends her best wishes to Kinomoto-chan."

"Li-chan," Syaoran corrected, almost snarling at his brother-in-law. "She is a Li now which means she is under the protection of this kingdom along with all those important to her."

"All those important," Gensou nodded, glancing towards Syaoran with a challenging expression. "Her father?" he questioned, compiling a short list. "Her brother and his family? Her sisters? Friends? Her kingdom?

"How far are you willing to take this, Li-kun?" Gensou finished, eyes narrowed at the younger king.

Syaoran said nothing and just returned Gensou's glare.

"You've finally picked a side," Gensou mused. "A part of me is almost pleased to see you trying to defy me in this way – finally seeing some semblance of a backbone. I almost respect you for it."

"I am not picking sides," Syaoran argued defiantly, "but I will not betray my wife for you, Gensou. Sakura is too precious to me."

Gensou scoffed aloud.

"Really, Li-kun," Gensou hissed, never failing to remind Syaoran of his place. "You expect me to believe that you – quite conveniently, I might add – found yourself enamoured with one of Kinomoto's daughters and married the girl right when I was planning to use you to wage war on her kingdom?" He stepped closer as he spoke, finally bringing the dance to a close by speaking aloud the undercurrents of their discussion.

Syaoran clenched his fists, needing everything in him to keep from attacking Gensou on he spot. "You make it sound like some sordid conspiracy against you," Syaoran argued, gritting his teeth. "I love her and this marriage has nothing to do with you."

Gensou snorted derisively. "You've always been a terrible liar, Li-kun, but I almost believed that one."

"Believe what you will," Syaoran hissed, bringing them to a stalemate. The two glared dangerously at one another, neither backing away from their position. Gensou would not concede his war, and Syaoran would not concede his marriage, and so the room was perfectly silent when Sakura suddenly walked in cradling a crying Nadeshiko in her arms.

"Syao-kun, I can't get Nade – " she began, stopping suddenly as she noted Gensou's presence. "Gomen nasai," she quickly apologized, bowing to their guest. "I didn't realize that someone else was here."

Gensou observed them carefully, noting a pair of matching emerald green eyes above all else and a child whose age did not coincide with the duration of the marriage. Nadeshiko didn't look much like Syaoran or much like Sakura either. She looked like her father, whoever he was – some dead soldier according to Ayame's lies, but no one would ever know the truth – still she had her maternal grandmother's eyes, much like Sakura, and that resemblance was enough for Gensou to jump to conclusions.

His expression changed, understanding seeming to dawn upon his features. "Don't mind me," Gensou said, an amused smirk on his lips. "I offer my best wishes on your recent marriage, Li Sakura." He gave a quick bow, his eyes never leaving her and his expression sly.

"Was there something I can help you with, Sakura-koi?" Syaoran asked pointedly, not liking the appraising looks that Gensou was giving his wife.

"Un," she said hesitantly, "but it can wait until you're done. Nadeshiko won't take her bottle and I know she always takes it from you."

Syaoran nodded, giving her a discrete, questioning look. "I'll be with you in a moment, Sakura," he assured her. "We were almost done."

"Indeed," Gensou agreed almost pleasantly, "I promise I won't keep your husband much longer, Li-chan." Sakura gave a respectful bow before disappearing out of the room almost as suddenly as she appeared.

"Now it makes sense," Gensou smirked, a smug laugh escaping his lips. "You soiled one of Kinomoto's precious daughters, and the only way to avoid the prince's wrath was to marry her. I assume you've been hiding her here until the baby was born, and then married her just as soon as she was presentable.

"I only wish my own wife looked so lovely after childbirth," he finished with a lecherous grin just to tick Syaoran off.

Syaoran's eyes widened at the conclusion and he tried desperately to raise a protest in defence of his good character. "Gensou, I-"

"Don't worry, Li-kun," Gensou smiled, bringing a hand down on Syaoran's shoulder in a friendly gesture, "I'll keep this information to myself.

"I'll just nod my head to whatever lie you decide to spin for your mother and sisters," he assured Syaoran with a sense of superiority, "whether it be adopting a street urchin or fudging the dates. I'd recommend going with the street urchin, otherwise you might find yourself trying to pass off a one year old as a newborn.

"I'll let you see to your daughter now, Li-kun," he added as he moved towards the door. "I know you have other matters to attend to, so I'll see myself out.

"Consider this business settled, Li-kun," he finished breezily, letting go one last amused chortle before going on his way. "I'll have to find some other way to expand my kingdom."

Syaoran just gaped, unsure whether he should protest Gensou's conclusions or simply let them be seeing as they had their desired outcome. He was still in a daze when Sakura peeked her head the doorway, cautiously examining the room for its inhabitants.

"Is he gone?" Sakura asked just to be safe.

"He is," Syaoran nodded, gesturing for her to come closer. "What was all that about?" he asked, frowning at her. "Nadeshiko never gets fed at this time."

"I know," Sakura replied. "I saw you two from the garden and it didn't look like he was believing you, so I thought I'd give it a shot myself.

"It doesn't really matter what he thinks of us, just as long as he doesn't think we did it because of him," she concluded with a brief shrug.

Syaoran smiled at her, feeling no shame in having done so badly without her help. "I love you," he said, bringing her into his arms. "You're a genius, Sakura. I don't know why we didn't think of this sooner."

"No 'Sakura-koi' this time?" she teased, a mock pout on her lips. The expression only lasted a moment as Syaoran blushed bright red and Sakura broke into cheerful laughter.

"S-sorry," he stuttered awkwardly, releasing his hold on her so he could try and cover his shame.

"It's fine, anata," she assured him with a kiss to the cheek, her words laced with affection. "I don't mind being your 'koi'."

"I consider myself honoured then, Sakura-koi," he said, gaining a bit of confidence.

"It's really over now, isn't it?" Sakura questioned, her eyes bright with hope. "There's nothing else that needs to be settled. No more secrets. Nothing else in our way?"

"Nope," Syaoran agreed, "so we can finally start on this happily ever after business.

"Starting now," he added, swooping in and planting his lips against hers in a deeply passionate kiss.

"Where's Nadeshiko?" he asked breathlessly as he pulled slightly away, his face still close to hers as he spoke.

"With Feimei," she replied simply. "Where's Eriol?" she asked knowing the propensity of a certain blue haired king to pop up at the most inopportune times.

"Gone," he grinned, glad that she'd picked up on his train of thought. "How about you and I start working on those heirs you promised?"

"I promised you no such thing, Li Syaoran," she argued, slipping out of his arms and walking towards the door. She turned back before she left, with a meaningful smile. "But I suppose I could be convinced."

Syaoran grinned, following quickly behind her. He already knew just how to make her see things his way.

**~ The End ~**

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And suddenly the world doesn't seem so cold. Suddenly my smile turns bright_.  
_Of all the reasons, you give just one. 'It's only love, dear. It's only love.'_

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But not really. Once again I'm gonna remind you that there is an epilogue coming and the end of the week so don't dump your alerts just yet.


	16. Epilogue

And so we come to the end. Thank you so much to everyone who's been reading this, reviewing this, favouriting this, and alerting this. I'm glad you've enjoyed the story and we'll see if it goes any further than this.

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Administrative stuff

Summary: Li Syaoran must return to Kinomoto Kingdom with the remains of his fiancée after her tragic demise. But a marriage is still required to unite the two families, and now Syaoran has his pick of the six remaining daughters of Kinomoto Fujitaka for the sake of both their kingdoms. Romance/Mystery

Ages:  
Li Syaoran: 23 yrs  
Kinomoto Sakura: 21 yrs

Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura.

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It's Only Love – Epilogue: Full Circle

_"'Nii-chan!" Sakura cried out as her big brother fell into her line of vision. "'Nii-chan, that boy pushed me into the lake."_

_Touya was quickly by her side, the question 'what lake' overruled by a more pertinent question. "Which boy?" he asked darkly, letting Sakura distract him from his own concerns._

_Sakura immediately clamped up at his tone. Whatever it was that had inspired her to tell Touya of the incident, it was certainly not vengeance. She looked almost aghast from the implication embedded in the words._

_"No!" she said quickly. "You can't hurt him!"_

_"Why not?" Touya asked suspiciously, waiting for a flurry of convoluted explanations about how it was bad to hurt people from his four year old (almost five year old) little sister. Instead she blushed, silently refusing to meet his eye._

_"You can't, 'Nii-chan," responded Tomoyo (who had only recently turned four) for her. "Onee-chan loves him."_

_"Moyo!" Sakura exclaimed, trying to clamp her hands over her sister's mouth even though it was already too late._

_"It's true," protested Tomoyo, talking around Sakura's hand. "You said he was pwetty."_

_Touya shook his head bemusedly. It was just like Sakura to 'fall in love' with a boy who attacked her. "Boys aren't 'pretty', Sakura," he told her in a wizened twelve year old manner. "They're handsome. And you shouldn't like someone because they're handsome. You should like them because they're nice."_

_"But he is nice!" Sakura insisted. "He saved my Nadeshiko dolly and gave me a cookie and he even helped me out of the lake after he pushed me in."_

_Touya looked slightly impressed. He doubted he would have managed to be quite so pleasant to a girl he liked at the same age. "I think I need to talk to this boy," he mused, watching Sakura's expression turn wide-eyed and frightened once again. "Don't worry, kaiju, I won't hurt him."_

_"Sakura not a kaiju!" she cried as Tomoyo pointed out a chestnut haired boy slightly older than Sakura sitting sullenly by the pond. This clearly constituted a lake for Sakura who was rather small for her age._

_Touya stalked over quickly with Sakura and Tomoyo trailing behind him at a safe distance. Once he was close enough, he called out to get the kids attention. "Oi, brat! What's your name?"_

_The kid jumped up and turned to face Touya, raising his fists when he noted the rather dangerous expression on the tall twelve-year-olds face. _

_"Li Syaoran," he replied confidently. "You better not mess with me," he added malevolently, "I know kung fu and I'm gonna be king, so you better not mess with me."_

_"Me too," Touya shrugged in response. "It's not really a big deal around here. In fact, this is **my** kingdom so if anything _you_ shouldn't mess with _**me**_._

_"I heard what you did to my sister," Touya said, taking a threatening step towards Syaoran and towering over the six year old._

_"Is that your sister?" Syaoran asked, straining around the older boy to see Sakura and Tomoyo hanging back by a small tree of her namesake. "Do you know her name?" he asked, flushing when he realized the stupidity of his own question. "I-I . . . uh . . . mean. C-can you . . . uh . . . please um . . . t-tell me her . . . n-name?"_

_Gone was the boy who had moments before stood up to a boy nearly twice his age and what remained was a bashful six year old who couldn't even talk about girls without turning the colour of cherry blossoms._

_"Her name is Sakura," Touya replied drolly. "NOT that you have permission to use it. She is 'Kinomoto-hime' to the **likes of you**."_

_Syaoran seemed to ignore this, testing the name silently on his lips. "Could you please tell her I'm sorry I pushed her?" he asked, suddenly looking up at Touya imploringly. "A-and that I didn't mean to ruin her dress."_

_"Anything else?" Touya asked sarcastically, crossing his arms over his chest._

_"Um . . ." Syaoran began thoughtfully, Touya's sarcasm going completely over his head. "C-could you tell her she has . . . uh really . . . um really pretty eyes?" he asked shyly. "They're . . . uh . . . my favourite colour."_

_Touya just glared. "I'm not your messenger boy._

_"Stay away from my sister, gaki!" he called over his shoulder as he walked back to Sakura and Tomoyo._

_The two girls immediately wanted to know what had happened and Touya told them nothing except, "he said his favourite colour is green."_

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Several months later: November

Syaoran stared blankly at the wall of the carriage as it was drawn through the gates of the Kinomoto castle, his emotions written all over his face. He almost didn't want to believe it was true, but it had to be, he didn't know what he would do if it all turned out to be a lie.

"Syaoran, say something," Sakura insisted, worried by her husband's frozen expression. He'd been like that since she told him and she wondered if maybe it hadn't been such a good idea telling him at this particular moment.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" he said finally, his words edged with emotion.

"Well I didn't know how you'd react," Sakura replied in a small voice, looking down at her hands. "I thought it might be better to tell you now."

"You thought you'd tell me minutes before we have to go meet your family?" Syaoran question obstinately. "How do you think I'm going to react, Sakura?"

She shrugged meekly, her eyes still on her hands. "Please don't be mad, Syaoran. I never –"

"Sakura," he said gently, taking her hands in his own so suddenly it forced her to look up. "Why on earth would I be mad about this?"

"I don't know," she shrugged, realizing how irrational she was being about this. "It's just . . . well, I mean . . . you were expecting one child . . . and now there's two. I don't want to be a burden, Syaoran," she finished sadly, bowing her head once again.

He tsked under his breath, shaking his head at her silliness. "What did I tell you, Sakura?" he asked, taking her head in his hands. "You are never a bother, especially to me," he told her, pressing a light kiss to the crown of her head.

"And I am so happy, Sakura," he added with a kiss to her forehead. "We weren't even trying and to get twins . . . Sakura, you've made me the happiest man alive," he concluded, finishing with a deep kiss to her lips.

She snuggled against his chest after he released her, a contented smile on her lips. "You make me happy too, Syaoran," she murmured softly, closing her eyes as she made herself comfortable. "Wake me when lunch is ready."

"Oh no," Syaoran protested, jarring her awake with a quick shake. "No way are you sleeping, Sakura," he told her. "There's no way I'm running into your brother on my own, especially not in this state. He'll kill me once he realizes."

"That's just silly, Syaoran," she muttered, rolling her eyes and scowling at him for preventing her from sleeping. "We're married. Married people have babies. It's all completely natural."

"Right," Syaoran agreed. "And that's exactly what you'll tell your brother when he comes at me with a sword."

Sakura rolled her eyes once again, not lifting herself from the rather comfortable position she occupied on Syaoran's chest. "Onii-chan doesn't have a sword. He uses his zia, which is technically a truncheon," she helpfully corrected. "And they're ceremonial so he'd have to be pretty mad to wreck them with your nasty blood, anata."

"That's encouraging," Syaoran muttered. "Thanks for being so supportive, Sakura-koi."

"That would definitely do it," Sakura surmised. "You keep talking like, Syao-kun, and you'll have 'nii-chan's whole arsenal stuck in you."

Syaoran just shook his head at her teasing, the overwhelming fear of Sakura's big brother not really putting him in the mood for their usual rapport. "You know, it's times like this I wonder how I could be so in love with you," he sighed aloud. "You should be nicer to me, Sakura-koi."

"I'm plenty nice to you, Syaoran," Sakura argued back. "How else do you think I got pregnant?"

He grinned at that and Sakura swatted him playfully as she guessed where his mind was going. "Now please, Syaoran, get your mind out of the gutter and stop worrying about what Onii-chan's going to do when he finds out," she demanded, giving him a stern look as she sat up. "We're here now and there's no backing out."

"No," Syaoran agreed. "You ready?" he asked his wife, giving her a gentle look.

Sakura nodded enthusiastically. "You?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," he sighed, lifting the dark-haired baby into his arms.

"Right then," Sakura nodded determinedly. She smiled at the little girl, taking a moment to ruffle her curly, ashen locks. "Time for you to meet the rest of the family."

* * *

Kinomoto Fujitaka grinned as he held his two-week-old grandson gently in his arms. He was filled with such pride that he hardly knew what to do with himself – here in his arms was his first grandson, the future ruler of Kita, and such a handsome little boy. His grin widened as the boy opened his sleepy brown eyes, and Fujitaka was taken back nearly thirty years to the first time he held his own son in his arms.

Said son, a man now, was looking increasing sulkier as the minutes passed. He had been unhappily deprived of his child for the last hour or so as his father and sisters mooned over the newborn baby. It was only when Nakuru forced the cheerful Yumiko into his arms that he was pulled out of his mood; his expression immediately changed to a soft smile as he engaged his eldest in a brief staring match that she had no conception of.

"He looks just like you, Touya," Fujitaka said softly, hardly wanting to raise his voice louder for fear that it might ruin the moment. "He's so . . . I only wish that Nadeshiko could see him. He's just so . . ."

Touya nodded, seeming to understand what his father was trying to say.

The baby began to squirm a little as he became more aware of his surroundings, and a moment later began to cry loudly for his mother. Nakuru quickly swooped in, uttering low, soothing words until he was settled once again. There was just something about being in your mother's arms that could not be substituted.

Sakura smiled as she took in the scene, quickly gesturing to the courtiers that she was quite capable of announcing herself. Which she did, stepping into the room with a cheerful, "don't tell me you started without me?"

"Sakura!" her five sisters cheered as they rushed to her side, each taking turns to hug their sister.

"I think marriage suits you, Sakura-chan," Nakuru smiled as she too took her turn to greet the recently crowned queen. "You look so lovely. You're practically glowing."

Sakura flushed at Nakuru's knowing look, giving a quick nod that no one else would notice to the silent question.

Tomoyo too noticed a change in her sister. "Have you been eating right, Sakura-chan?" she grinned as she spoke lowly to her sister. "I think you've put on a little weight in Minami," she said knowingly. "I even think your chest has gotten bigger."

Sakura glared at her sister, warning her not to say anymore before the others caught on.

"Kaiju, come see your nephew," Touya said by way of greeting, his eyes not leaving the little boy that now resided in his arms. Sakura decided to let the 'pet name' go just this once seeing as taking her wrath out on Touya might inadvertently injure his son. He'd certainly be in for it next time, of that she was certain.

"This is Toshiro," Touya said with unusual gentleness, looking up briefly to see her approval.

Sakura smiled, suddenly feeling as though she were on the verge of tears. "He's beautiful," she said softly, her hand moving unconsciously to rest upon her stomach.

"Thanks again for letting Syaoran and I know," she uttered sarcastically, knocking him in the shin. "If Yue-san hadn't asked us to send his regards we'd have had no idea."

"Touya," Nakuru admonished. "You told me you had told everyone."

"Must have slipped my mind," Touya shrugged. "You and the gaki weren't exactly foremost in my mind," he told his sister in a tone that was almost placating, or at least it might have be if he didn't insist on referring to Syaoran as a brat.

Sakura scowled. "Stop calling him that," she demanded. "Syaoran is my husband, Onii-chan, and so you should address him properly."

Touya scoffed, covering his surprise at her passionate defence. "Sounds the perfect match. A kaiju and a gaki, ne?" He laughed as his little sister tightened her fists in an attempt to restrain himself. He didn't know how lucky he was to be holding Toshiro in that moment.

"Where is Syaoran-kun?" Fujitaka cut in before things escalated. "You didn't come alone, did you, Sakura-chan?"

"No, 'tou-san," Sakura replied, turning to her father with a sweet smile. "He's somewhere," she waved vaguely. "It would be just like him to get lost."

"I'm here," Syaoran called, arriving just as she said the words. "And I did not get lost," he added, looking pointedly at his wife who just smiled sweetly. "I had to stop to settle Nadee-chan."

"Likely story," Sakura countered, moving to greet him with a quick kiss to the cheek even though they had been parted for less than five minutes.

"Sakura-chan, who's this?" Fujitaka asked as his eyes settled on the little girl in Syaoran's arms.

"This is Li Nadeshiko," Sakura replied easily, seemingly oblivious to the uneasy looks her family were giving the little girl. She noted that Tomoyo's gaze was not as troubled as the others, and realized that if Eriol had known about Ayame's indiscretions, then Tomoyo probably did too.

"Is she yours?" Fujitaka asked, frowning as he failed to keep the question to herself.

Sakura nodded. "Syaoran and I adopted her," she replied brightly.

Fujitaka couldn't help but feel relieved at this, although only mildly so. "Are you sure that's a good idea, Sakura-chan?" he cautioned. "What with Genso-"

"Syaoran was worried too, at first," Sakura cut in, knowing what had put her father so ill-at-ease, "but I assured him that Nadeshiko wasn't the only new addition to our household."

Several pairs of eyes flicked between the two – between the broadly grinning Sakura and the lightly blushing Syaoran – watching as Syaoran gently took her hand and gave it an encouraging squeeze. It was a perfectly peaceful moment, but Touya was quick to ruin it.

"Oi, Gaki!" Touya yelled. "What the hell did you do to my sister!"

Syaoran shook his head at the not unexpected reaction of his brother-in-law. "I told you so," he muttered to Sakura.

"Touya, you're being ridiculous," Sakura cried back at her brother. "Syaoran and I have been married for more than four months now, and it is perfectly naturally for married couples to produce children. So quit being such an ogre or I swear I'll be happy to answer that question of yours in great detail."

Touya paled at the threat. There were some things that a brother just did not want to know about his sister.

"Sakura-chan, I'm so happy for you!" Nakuru cheered, breaking the cool silence that rested after Touya's outburst. "I'll tell you everything I know and what foods to eat and how to make Syaoran-kun run out in the middle of the night to get you Minami strawberries even though it's well out of season and no one in their right mind would sell them him.

"Being pregnant is so fun," she sighed happily at the reminiscence. Touya groaned painfully in remembrance of his own Minami strawberry runs - Nakuru didn't even _like_ strawberries! Pregnancy was most definitely NOT fun, and a part of him even sympathized a little with Syaoran almost in spite of him being a useless gaki and having touched his sister indecently.

But as the family came together, all that was put aside. Despite himself, Touya couldn't find fault in Syaoran. His sister looked beyond content - beyond happy - and he supposed that he could live with Syaoran - to a degree - if it meant seeing her smiling.

* * *

"Are you happy, Sakura?" Tomoyo asked later when all the excitement had died down and it was just the two of them.

Sakura nodded, a gentle smile on her lips. "Very.

"Are you, Tomoyo?"

Tomoyo shrugged. "I'm happy if the ones I love are happy," she replied vaguely.

"Are they?" Sakura couldn't help but ask, a certain blue-haired king in mind.

"Mostly."

"Tomoyo . . ." Sakura began consoling, but her sister waved off her sympathy.

"It's only love, Sakura," she replied, a forced smile on her lips.

_"It's only love."_


End file.
